Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), 17th century (oil painting)

Creator: Nicolas Cochin A half-length portrait of Galileo, the Italian mathematician, astronomer and experimental philosopher, in old age. The original version was painted in Florence in 1636 by Justus Sustermans. It was sent by Galileo to a friend in Paris but soon returned to Florence and has been in the Uffizi collection since at least 1678. Compared to Sustermans' slightly later portrait of Galileo seated in a chair, in repose (see BHC2700), this probably shows him standing, in a slightly different black doublet, with a higher white collar also of different style. Unlike the seated version, the torso is also slightly turned to the right but with the sitter's head turning left and looking upward, making this a more dynamic image.