Portrait of a Man Holding a Letter ('L'Avvocato')

Giovanni Battista Moroni executed this striking portrait around 1570-1572. The sitter holds a folded letter addressed "Al Magº Sig Julii" (to the most worshipful Lord Giulio), and his slightly theatrical bearing earned the work its nickname "L'Avvocato," the Lawyer.

The title may derive from a misreading of the abbreviation "Magº" as Magistrato rather than Magnifico. Whatever his profession, the man regards us with a supercilious air, as if weighing evidence. Moroni structured the composition along a diagonal from upper right to lower left, using the tilt of the head and angle of the hands to create visual tension.

The oil on canvas measures 89 x 72.5 cm and hangs at the National Gallery in London, where it has been since 1865. Much of the original black paint was damaged and repainted during 19th-century restoration. Moroni worked in Bergamo, painting portraits of the local aristocracy and professional classes with notable psychological acuity. This late work shows his economical brushwork and ability to convey character through pose and expression.