Haltadefinizione continues its collaboration with major institutions in the digital enhancement of the art collections held by Italian banks.
In this context, thanks to its collaboration with UniCredit, Haltadefinizione has recently digitized in gigapixel Portrait of a Young Man with a Flute by Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo. The painting, part of the UniCredit Art Collection, has been on long-term loan to the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo in Brescia since 1994.
Rich in meanings that intertwine themes of love, literature and music, the portrait is one of the masterpieces of the Brescian painter Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo, created in 1525. The painting belongs to the context of 16th-century Lombard painting, characterized by its attention to the rendering of reality and the use of light - elements that would later profoundly influence the work of Caravaggio and, later still, Vermeer.
In the painting, we seem to enter suddenly into a private environment and surprise a melancholic flute player who turns toward us. The young man is dressed in a striking manner, wearing a rich fur-trimmed cloak that hints at his high social status. The scene takes place in a room where the light precisely reveals the details of the surrounding objects.
In 2024, with the support of UniCredit, the painting underwent a careful restoration that brought to light details previously obscured by an earlier intervention.
The gigapixel digitization, carried out after the restoration, now allows viewers to appreciate details that had long remained hidden. The painting was acquired through more than 168 shots for the canvas and 53 for the frame.
The ultra-high-definition image makes it possible to observe with extraordinary clarity the attention Savoldo devoted to the gaze of the young musician, marked by a deep melancholy, almost on the verge of turning into tears. The hat casts a shadow over the eyes, creating a suspended and unsettling expression, intensified by the painter’s use of light.
Those interested in the history of costume can lose themselves in the details of the precious fur and the refined garments worn by the young man, while visitors drawn to the musical aspect can examine the meticulous way in which the sheet music is depicted.
The digitization also makes it possible to clearly distinguish one of the most significant details of the work: the painter’s signature, “Joan[n]es Jeronimus Savoldis De Brisia Faciebat”, written on the sheet music hanging on the wall. This is one of the advantages of gigapixel technology, which allows essential elements for understanding the artist’s message to emerge with clarity. This very detail has led some art historians to suggest that Savoldo himself may have been not only a painter but also a musician.
This project demonstrates how important it is to accompany restoration with ultra-high-definition digitization. While restoration restores the legibility of the work, digitization makes it possible to disseminate its results, allowing scholars and enthusiasts to explore in detail a painting returned to its original splendor.
The initiative forms part of Haltadefinizione’s broader commitment to the enhancement and accessibility of UniCredit’s artistic heritage, with the aim of bringing the public closer to great works of art through the potential of digital technologies.
It is possible to explore the painting in gigapixel within the Haltadefinizione Image Bank and on the UniCredit Art Collection website.
