A Poet from Antiquity

This imaginary portrait of a classical poet was part of a series of nine celebrated poets painted for the ducal court at Mantua. Following Caravaggio’s lead, Fetti chose as his model an ordinary man, depicted without idealisation and with a strong physical presence. The poet is portrayed as a mature man with a weather-beaten face and an inward-looking expression. His balding head is crowned with laurels, since antiquity a mark of distinction reserved for the victor, whether emperor or poet. A soft light is focused on the sensitively modelled face and powerful hands. Fetti brings to life the inspired poet beneath the coarse exterior, offering the viewer a portrait of the classical poet as intensely human as it is distinctly unheroic.