Portrait of Balthasar Castiglione
Artist	Raphael
Medium	Oil on canvas
Location	Louvre, Paris
Dimensions	32 in × 26 in
	82 cm × 67 cm

Baldassare Castiglione, a famous author during the High Renaissance period and also a friend to the artist Raphael, was portrayed in an oil painting around 1514 to 1515. Castiglione wrote a book retelling his experience at court of Urbino, and at the same time, discusses the thinking, tastefulness and culture of the 16th century royal courts – the book was titled “The Courtier.”

However, if one looks at the portrait closely, Castiglione becomes the real courtier – poised, with a calm looking face and with a gentle stare. The use of different shades and tones to create a high quality representation of the clothes and the hat, combined with the use of light which hits the face all work towards a picture like representation of the subject, a style that is quite advanced during such time.