Gian Lodovico Madruzzo

One of the most accomplished painters working in the realist tradition of the Lombardy region of Northern Italy, Giovanni Battista Moroni was above all an outstanding portraitist. Here, he depicted Gian Lodovico Madruzzo. Moroni painted this commanding likeness—along with that of the subject’s brother, Gian Federico Madruzzo (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC)—during the Council of Trent, a meeting to address challenges to the Catholic Church posed by the Protestant Reformation. Gian Lodovico Madruzzo eventually succeeded his uncle as prince-bishop, ruler of the city of Trent, in 1567.