Cardinal Pietro Bembo

Titian

National Gallery of Art

Shown from the waist up, an older, pale-skinned man wearing clerical robes gestures to our right with one hand and turns his head to look off to our left in this vertical portrait painting. His shoulders angle to our right, and that arm hangs by his side. His other arm is bent at the elbow, and the hand is held palm up so the fingers loosely point to our right. His gaunt face turns to our left, and he looks off with dark, deep-set eyes under heavy, curved brows. He has a high forehead, a long, thin, hooked nose, and hollow cheeks. His full, smoke-gray beard is painted with blended strokes so appears soft. His crimson-red hat comes to four rounded points over ear-length, dark gray hair. An elbow-length red cape has buttons down the front, and he wears a white garment with a red cuff around the hand we can see. The man is lit from our left in front of a brown background.