Possibly the Hermitage collection, St. Petersburg (according to the Bukowski 1961 sale catalogue);
L. Birtschausky, Paris, 1930;
C. Frisk, acquired in 1931;
By whose estate sold, Stockholm, Bukowski Galleries, 19-21 April 1961, lot 184 (as by Titian);
Where acquired by the present owner.

H.E. Wethey, The paintings of Titian, complete edition, vol. II, The portraits, London 1971, p. 160, under cat no. X-27, no. 2.

The canvas has an old wax relining. the paint surface has been a bit pressed overall in the relining and there are some areas of slight abrasion in flesh tones of face and hands, beard and lower area of costume. however, overall the detail remains good and the painting still presents a strong and impressive image. examination under UV light shows some small retouches to forehead, nose, cheeks and a larger retouch to lower part of beard. there is some retouching on hand and along stone ledge at bottom with larger areas of retouching at lower right and left corners. a few other minor retouches here and there on costume and in background. offered in an ornately carved and gilt wood frame with some losses to the gilding.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Published by Harold Wethey in 1971 (see Literature), this portrait depicts the distinguished and cultured diplomat, Doge Francesco Donà.  Donà was elected doge in 1545 and, despite multiple attempts at abdication due to illness, he remained in office until his death in 1553.  Another version of this portrait, possibly from Titian's workshop, formerly in the collection of the San Diego Museum of Art, California and it seems likely that both this and the San Diego canvas are based on a lost original, either by Titian or by a Venetian contemporary.¹  Titian was employed to paint a likeness of each new doge for the official cycle of portraits in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio in the Doge's Palace; he received payment for a portrait of Doge Francesco Donà in 1547, but the work was destroyed by fire in 1577.  In keeping with the rest of the frieze, Donà would have been portrayed in a double portrait with his predecessor, Doge Pietro Lando and the pair would have been shown facing one another in three-quarter length.  Titian produced another, unofficial portrait of the Doge, published by Peter Humfrey in 2004 and now in a private collection at Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, in which the sitter is shown seated against a window with a view of Venice beyond.²  As Frederick Ilchman indicates, however, unlike the Bute portrait the present canvas harks back to an to an earlier style of portraiture; the sitter is placed behind a stone parapet, evocative of those present in portraits or compositions of the Madonna and Child by Giovanni Bellini or the young Titian, intended to heighten the elevated status of the figures in the eyes of the viewer.  The presence of this feature could perhaps indicate that the artist was trained earlier in the sixteenth century, or may rather have been a request of the patron, so that the painting might be more easily incorporated into a collection of older portraits. 

We are grateful to Frederick Ilchman for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot on the basis of🍃 photographs.

1.  See H.E. Wethey under Literature, op. cit., no. X-27, reproduced plate 236 and later sold New York, Sothebys, 11 April 1991, lot 107;
2.  P. Humfrey in The Age of Titian, Venetian Renaissance art from Scottish collections, exhibition catalogue, Edinburgh 2004, p. 130, cat. no. ✤38, reproduced.