Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting

Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli (black-and-white reproduction)

A black-and-white reproduction of a portrait image of Machiavelli, shown in an octagonal frame. The record gives no artist or date.

Shows a portrait image of Machiavelli as later readers pictured him, useful for comparing how his likeness was presented.

Ask Niccolo Machiavelli about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black-and-white halftone reproduction of a portrait of a man with short dark hair, dark eyes, and a slight closed-mouth expression, wearing a dark garment with a white collar, set within an octagonal frame.
Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli, black-and-white reproduction. Date and artist not given.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white halftone reproduction of a portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli. It shows a man with short dark hair, dark eyes and a slight closed-mouth expression, wearing a dark garment with a white collar, inside an octagonal frame. The record gives no artist, date or holding institution, so the original painting cannot be traced from this entry.

Why it matters

Portraits of Machiavelli were made long after his lifetime, so they show how later readers pictured him rather than how he looked. This reproduction is a modern copy of such an image and is best used to ask how a face was chosen to stand for a famous thinker.

Look closer

  • What details of clothing and pose make this man look serious or respectable?
  • Who might have chosen this image, and for what book or audience?
  • What can a portrait with no date or artist tell us, and what can it not tell us?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Niccolo Machiavelli on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Niccolo Machiavelli sources

Meet the AI Niccolo Machiavelli →
Title page of the 1550 Italian edition of Machiavelli's Il Principe, with the title and subtitles in black letters on aged paper, a woodcut portrait bust of a man holding a book, two oval emblems, and the date MDL at the bottom.Book

Primary source

The Prince

Niccolò Machiavelli · 1513

Letter

Primary source

Letter to Francesco Vettori

Niccolò Machiavelli · 10 December 1513

Title page of an early printed book, 'Discorsi di Nicolo Machiavelli, Fiorentino, sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio', with a woodcut border showing a lion's head at top and a wolf standing on a ribbon inscribed 'DISSIMILIVM INFIDA SOCIETAS' below. Handwritten marks appear in the margins.Book

Primary source

Discourses on Livy

Niccolò Machiavelli · c. 1517, published 1531

Painting of a man with short dark hair in a black cloak with red sleeves and red collar, resting one hand on a stone ledge and holding a book in the other hand against a dark brown background.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli

Santi di Tito · late 16th century

Title page of a 1556 printed edition of Machiavelli's comedy Mandragola. Large capitals read MANDRAGOLA COMEDIA FACETISSIMA DI M. NICOLO MACHIAVELLI FIORENTINO, followed by Nuovamente corretta & Ristampata. A woodcut of a mandrake plant with roots and leaves is centered between the text. At the bottom reads IN FIORENZA MDLVI.Book

Primary source

The Mandrake

Niccolò Machiavelli · 1524

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Niccolo Machiavelli now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions