A small portrait of a young man (oil on canvas, 29.5 x 19 cm) is published here for the first time and attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).
The affinity of this head with the painting of Annibale Carracci, and that of Rubens during his Roman years, broadens and deepens our knowledge of Bernini's pictorial style, which until now has been documented by works more reminiscent of Guercino.
In my view a dating of around 1628 would seem the most reasonable.
This new painting by Gian Lorenzo seems to have all the dramatic force and almost aggressively imposed presence of the self-portraits, although it is not easy to include this head in the series of the four 'Self-portraits' we are already familiar with. Indeed, our present state of knowledge would perhaps advise caution, suggesting we go no further than not excluding that it might be a self-portrait.