Giovanni Battista Moroni (1520/4 - 1579), A Knight with his Jousting Helmet ('Il Cavaliere dal Piede Ferito', Conte Faustino Avogadro (?), about 1554-8. Oil on canvas, 202.3 × 106.5 cm. Bought, 1876, NG1022, National Gallery, London.

This portrait was long known as ‘Il Cavaliere dal Piede Ferito’ (‘The knight with the wounded foot’). But the brace supporting the man’s left foot suggests he was suffering from foot-drop, a fairly common disorder caused by the failure of the ankle muscles. The way in which his plate armour has been carelessly strewn about is very unusual. The ruined setting may be intended to highlight the sitter’s enduring virtues. His rapier and helmet would have been worn for tournaments rather than for warfare.

The sitter is thought to be Conte Faustino Avogadro of Brescia. It is possible that the portrait was made to hang with Moretto’s Portrait of a Man, dated 1526, which possibly depicts Faustino’s father, Gerolamo II Avogadro. Moroni’s portrait ‘La Dama in Rosso’ may be of Faustino’s wife, Contessa Lucia Albani Avogadro. All three paintings came to the National Gallery from the Avogadro collection