Portrait Of Bartolomeo De Olevano Oil On Canvas Second Half '500

Oil on canvas.
Lombard School.
It is the portrait of a man in armour standing proud, almost in motion, his hand sitting on the hilt of his sword; there is a coat of arms top left, a painted title block bottom right with a long Latin inscription, that identifies the man.
He is Bartolomeo III Olevano, who belongs to the powerful noble family of the Olevano, feudal lords of many towns in the Pavia and Lomellina areas (where their castle still exists), who was very involved in the history of Pavia and its countryside until the 18th century.
Bartolomeo III, born in 1512, had dedicated himself to the art of war for 40 years, carrying out numerous and highly honoured deeds, and was prefect of Mortara and Novara during the domination of Charles V, leader of soldiers and ambassador of Philip II.
His most important achievements are summarised in the title block: a translation of the text is available.
The coat of arms of the family has an olive tree on the left, from which the family took its name.
The painting comes from an important historical Lombard family collection.