Giorgione's Self-Portrait as David

This is an engraving after Giorgione. The ledge was a regular feature of the portraits of Giovanni Bellini, it served both to set the figure in space and to provide a firm base for a bust-length composition. Giorgione also adopted the device of the foreground ledge in this self-portrait. He rejected the near-frontality of Bellini’s portraiture; by placing his body at right angles to the plane, and turning his head to confront the viewer, he created an image that was both more spontaneous and more arresting.