Blog Post 2: Exploring the origin of borders.


1530s Paris Bordone (Italian painter, 1500-1571) Portrait of a Man in Armor with Two Pages.

In my previous post I explored the use of an African child page in a portrait, displayed above, of a military officer in armor painted by an Italian painter Paris Bordone in the 1530s and how the portrait related to the overall theme of "borders". I have learned that the painting was painted before the time scope of this course, and thus the project will be  examining further how the exploitation of African culture originated, and further along how it evolved into the ways it is being used in the scope of the course. In this blog post I will be focusing on the origin, setting, and identity of the aspects of the painting and the painter for a better understanding of the piece.

The artist, Paris Bordone, was a Venitian Renaissance painter in the 16th century who apprenticed under the great painter Titian. He was known as a painter of mythologies and for his portraits, specifically those with young women whose "Hair typically shone with metallic brilliance", and for his sensitively rendered altarpieces and portraits. It is thought that he may have painted "Portrait of a Man in Armor with Two Pages" in the 1540s during his stint in Mulan. The piece is part of an extensive history of military portraiture, and is known as one of the origins of more "casual" military portraiture in which the official is preparing for battle, but this particular work is kind of an in-between as the setting is still quite ominous. The stormy skies, and the advancing army still give a sense of dread which is unique to Bordone. The African child in the painting is said to be a Moor, and the sitter is thought to possibly be Milanese. The identity of the sitter and the Moor child is important as it connects to the overall idea of borders in a very literal sense, assuming that the portrait was painted in Mulan as some sources suggest, the child was likely imported as part of some indentured servitude (Slavery was not common in 16th century Italy), or was otherwise purposefully added. Mulan was not a part of the triangle of the slave trade, meaning that for a Moor to be present in Mulan it took some amount of effort for the child to be under the officials employ. In itself, this is a statement of the fashion having such an exotic person under your employ portrayed. If the sitter went through that much trouble to have his foreign page included in the portrait, it is likely because it conveyed some form of message that made him appear more positive in some aspect, whether it be in makes him appear more world traveled, wealthy, or important. There is also the chance that the page was not there at all and was simply added artificially by request or at the artists behest, which even more clearly illustrates the point of how such a thing would appeal to the Zeitgeist of the time, as it would be purposefully be sought out as a desirable element to include in the painting.


Sources:

"Paris Bordon | Portrait of a Man in Armor with Two Pages." Paris Bordon. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2015.

"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Sixteenth-Century Painting in Venice and the Veneto. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2015.