Aristocratic Portrait
Rome: Mid 18th Century
Rome: Mid 18th Century
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Correggio (c. 1489-1534) (after)
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Portrait of an aristocratic woman, casting a sideways glance toward a doorway behind her, where a group of women are approaching, one holding a paddle-shaped fan. It is a proof before letters, that is, it was printed as a proof before the title was imprinted at the bottom.
Prior owners of this print believed it might be a portrait of Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), an Italian noblewoman of legendary beauty. She had a notorious reputation as a vicious character who went through legions of husbands and lovers who were used and discarded, although contemporary scholars have debunked that view. After 1510 she led a quiet life, although she never shook off the aura of scandal. Correggio (Antonio Allegri) was one of the great painters of the Italian High Renaissance. Relatively unknown during his lifetime, the combination of technical virtuosity and dramatic excitement in his paintings were profoundly influential to later generations of artists, and his reputation soared in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Cornelis Holsteyn (also spelled Holsteijn), was a Dutch painter who worked in both Haarlem and Amsterdam, the two largest art centers of 17th-century Holland. He was from a family of artists that included his father and brother, both named Pieter Pietersz Holsteyn. In addition to working in oils he also received commissions for wall and ceiling paintings. Condition: Generally very good with the usual light toning, wear, soiling, soft creases. Some scattered foxing particularly in margins. Reference: "Cornelis Pietersz Holsteyn." Rotterdam: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. http://www.boijmans.rotterdam.nl/onderw/biogr/Holsteyn.htm (5 June 2002). "Correggio." The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/01/0195/T019595.asp (13 May 2002). |