Doge Pasquale Cicogna (1509-1595)

The sitter in this portrait is identified by the traditional corno ducale hat and robes of state of the Doge or chief magistrate and leader of La Serenissima or the 'Most Serene Republic of Venice'. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. The identification of the sitter with Doge Pasquale Cicogna is supported by the presence of a stork in the pattern of his cloak (see right shoulder). A stork, or cicogna in Italian, was Doge Pasquale's personal emblem, visible for example on the coat of arms included in a portrait engraving by Jacopo Tintoretto (Bartsch XVI.105.1). The sitter can also be identified through comparison with Palma Giovane's paintings on canvas ca. 1568-87 in the Oratory of the Ospedaletto dei Crociferi, Venice, of the major events in the Doge's life.1449-1882 appears to have been painted by an artist familiar with the works of Jacopo Tintoretto (1519-1594) and his son Domenico (1560-1635) as well as Palma Giovane (ca, 1548-1628) and may be a direct contemporary copy of an unidentified portrait of the Doge by one of these Venetian artists all working on the terra firma in the late 16th century.