Giovanni Paolo Cavagna — Portrait with a Lemon (132 × 107 cm), last decade of the 16th century. This is a formal portrait in the Venetian manner, distinguished by severity and restrained dignity. It depicts a successful fruit merchant from Venice (hence the lemon in his hand). An elderly man in a black robe with a broad fur collar is shown seated in a chair with carved armrests, his gaze turned to the side, which lends the image composure and inner strength. The meticulous rendering of the face, with gray hair and a short beard, underscores the sitter’s individuality, while the neutral dark background focuses attention on the figure. The painting is executed in the traditions of the High Renaissance, with the harmony of color characteristic of the Venetians and a subtle handling of fabric textures.

Most likely, the lemon indicates that the painting belongs to the Venetian School of Fruttaroli (in particular, to the Naranzeri company). It was located near the bell tower of Santa Maria Formosa and united all the merchants selling fruits and vegetables, which were operating mainly in Rialto and San Marco districts. Among them, the Naranzeri company was of special importance. It specialized in selling citrus fruits, which, obviously, had to be imported from far away, from the East. A formal chair and elegant clothes with a large fur lining indicate that the depicted man was wealthy. The importance of the citrus fruit trading is proved by the fact that the warehouse for storing oranges, tangerines and lemons was moved to special rooms under Palazzo dei Camerlenghi since the second half of the XIVth century.

The portrait is sometimes attributed to Leandro Bassano; however, there is an expert opinion by Professor Mauro Lucco, Professor at the University of Bologna and the author of many books on Renaissance art, concluding that the author is Giovanni Paolo Cavagna. According to Francesco Maria Tassi, Cavagna left for Venice when he was young and was immediately admitted to Titian’s workshop. At first, he was a student of Titian, then he continued studying with Giovanni Battista Moroni.