Portrait of ‘Bartholomeus Bongus’, an Italian lawyer

The physical history of the portrait is enigmatic in itself, as the lower part of the painting has been extended by five centimetres. Two large inlays are visible on the painted surface, possibly resulting from the transfer of the work from a wooden panel to canvas. The painting bears the inscription: ‘Bartholomeus Bongus Aeque Ann.Dni. MCDXVI”, “also Bartholomeus Bongus, 1416”, as well as a heraldic motif featuring an alternating chequered field (a repetition of binary patterns alternating between two colours), that is to say, with an odd number of separations: Six-part fasciated in gold and gules, a coat of arms listed in CAMOZZI VER - TOVA DE GHERARDI (1994) and belonging to the Bonghi family.

The portrait has the same frame as its counterpart, which turns out to be a portrait of Christine of Lorraine (1565–1637) by Giusto Sustermans. These two paintings may have been purchased together, and may therefore be related, unless they are simply arranged for decorative purposes as a pair of full-length portraits, as suggested by the five-centimetre extension at the bottom.

The name painted on Aulteribe’s painting, Bartolomeo Bongus, is in fact that of Bartolomeo Bonghi, a^16th-century Italian lawyer, a portrait of whom is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Metropolitan Museum’s catalogue entry states that the work was first exhibited in London in June 1861, when it was referred to as ‘Bartholomeus Bongus’. The painting at the Metropolitan Museum, restored in 1991, allowed for the removal of a coat of arms that had been added in the^19th century, which can still be seen in some copies. It is worth noting that this doctor of civil and canon law is depicted holding a book, rather than a sword as in our portrait by Aulteribe.

On the second portrait of Bartolomeo Bonghi, which was sold at public auction, there is an inscription and a date: ‘BARTHOLOMEVS BONGVS L.V.D./CAN.ET PRIMICER. CATH.BERG./ PROTHONOT.APPLICVS.COMES.ET AE QV./ ANNO.DNI.MDLXXXIV’ (centre-left), which should be understood as ‘Bartholomeus Bongus. I(uris) U(triusque) D(octor) / Can(onic)us and Pri - micer(i)us Cath(edrae) Berg(omensis) / Pro - thonot(arius) Ap(ostho)licus Comes and Ae - ques / Anno D(omi)ni MDLXXXIV’.

The date on the painting is 1584 (MDLXXXIV), whilst Aulteribe’s portrait bears the date 1416 (MCDXVI). Aulteribe’s painting is therefore indeed linked to that of Giovanni Battista Moronni (c. 1525–1578) through the coat of arms, but does not depict the same person. Aulteribe’s subject carries a sword and is dressed in the fashion of the late^16th century, or even the early^17th century.

The painter of this full-length portrait—which is clumsy and appears even unfinished in the lower section, with little detail in the background—may have been a follower of Antonio Moro, whose real name was Anthonis Moor Van Dashorst (1517–1576), who included his patron’s coat of arms on certain portraits, unless he was a follower of Giovanni Battista Moroni (c. 1525–1578). Furthermore, this portrait bears no resemblance to that of Christine of Lorraine, which hangs opposite it. This is clearly a display arranged for decorative effect.

Claudia Bussolino, ‘Il rittratto di un rettore del XVI secolo: BARTOLOMEO BONGHI’, Almum Studium Papiense, 1.II, Cisalpino, Milan 2013, pp. 1059–1064.

F. Zeri and E.E. Gardner, *Italian Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art*. Northern Italian School,1986, p. 46.