Rosalba Carriera (1673 – 1757)

Follower of ROSALBA CARRIERA (Venice, 1673 – 1757) Portrait of the singer Faustina Bordoni with a score Pastel on paper, cm. 42 x 32 Frame size, cm. 47 x 37 x 3 approx. NOTE: Publication catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection (pdf). Unsigned work. Guarantee and Legitimate Provenance Certificate. Work with contemporaneous dark morado wooden frame and glass. Work without frame: The small and refined sheet – pastel on paper, applied to a canvas/support panel – depicts the famous Portrait of the singer Faustina Bordoni with a score. The work, in fact, offers a refined half-length likeness of Faustina Bordoni (1697–1781), renowned Venetian opera singer (mezzo-soprano) and icon of European 18th-century opera. The noblewoman is captured in a three-quarter pose, facing to the right, while turning her languid and penetrating gaze directly toward the viewer. Her brown hair is elegantly gathered and adorned at the top with a pearl tiara and delicate blue and white flowers recalling the spring freshness characteristic of the Rococo style. Dangling from the lobes are conspicuous and precious drop earrings with baroque pearls. The singer wears a décolleté dress that leaves the shoulders and the neckline exposed, characterized by a fine-edged white blouse edged with lace and partially covered by a rich blue mantle, bright and iridescent, fastened at the front with an orange ribbon. With the right hand, visible at the bottom, she holds a loose sheet of music, a clear nod to her famous profession as a virtuoso of singing. The pastel shows the direct influence of Rosalba Carriera (Venice, 1673 – 1757), the “queen of pastel” who revolutionized the portrait genre in Europe. The anonymous follower demonstrates notable skill in reproducing the effects typical of the master’s school in Venice: The pastel rendering attempts to emulate the famous softness of the skin and the hazy shading that made Carriera’s portraits iconic. The soft and frontal lighting makes the figure emerge from a neutral monochrome background, toned to gray-blue shades, enhancing the color contrast with the blue of the mantle. Although the contour definition is slightly more pronounced than the master’s extraordinarily airy and ethereal touch, the work stands as a high-quality epochal derivative, conceived to satisfy the wide demand for portraits of celebrities of the era by nobles and Grand Tour collectors. The pastel in question directly imitates the famous autograph prototype that Rosalba Carriera executed between 1724 and 1725, whose reference masterwork is today preserved at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden, with a second known edition at Ca’ Rezzonico in Venice. Where Carriera’s original is distinguished by that almost imperceptible, chalky and airy touch that fuses light directly with the singer’s flesh, this follower’s version adopts a slightly more concrete and defined language. The anonymous painter shows a secure hand but more graphic, noticeable especially in the line of the eyes, in the definition of the fingers, and in the rendering of the musical score, which appears more schematic compared with the softness of the master’s painted paper. Also in chromatic terms there is a subtle difference: where Rosalba Carriera plays with delicate transparencies and subdued color harmonies, the follower prefers more compact and saturated color applications, giving the blue mantle and the orange ribbon a clearer and more decisive chiaroscuro contrast. It is, in short, a faithful and high-quality epochal translation, capable of conveying the intact charm and Rococo beauty ideal of the original. The work comes from art collections donated to support the Italian Leniterapia Foundation (FILE) ETS, a prestigious entity active in social-healthcare assistance and palliative care. The painting, integrated into the Foundation’s fundraising and promotion circuits, represents not only a precious document of private collecting tied to 18th-19th century Venetian art, but also a fundamental vehicle of social solidarity for sustaining the organization’s care activities. The work presents a discreet overall state of conservation. Protected by glass that has preserved over time the delicate nature of the pastel, it remains safe from dust and humidity. The painting layer is stable and the pigments retain remarkable chromatic vivacity, especially in the intense blue of the mantle and in the flesh tones. Only the physiological signs of time are evident, such as minimal and localized abrasions along the outer edges, largely hidden by the frame’s lip. The artwork is in fair overall conservation. The pastel surface shows a stable application, without evident signs of powdering or macroscopic pigment detachment, maintaining good chromatic vivacity (especially in the blue tones and flesh). There are light, physiological signs of aging and superficial deposits consistent with the period, with minimal abrasions along the margins, partly covered by the frame lip. Dimensions of the work are 42 x 32 cm, with an old dark morado wooden frame (frame size approx. 47 x 37 x 4 cm, with defects). The painting is sold without an external frame, although it is enhanced by a beautiful pierced and gilded wooden frame. Provenance: The work comes from an Italian private collection and its recent market tracing confirms its transfer to auction with a charitable purpose in favor of the Italian Leniterapia Foundation (FILE) ETS. Publication: - I Miti e il Territorio nella Sicilia dalle mille culture. INEDITA QUADRERIA general catalog of the paintings from the cycle “I Miti e il territorio”, 2026 (Pdf). The work will be shipped — as it is fragile and with glass — in a wooden case with polystyrene. In the case of sale outside Italian territory, the purchaser must allow time for export procedures.

Estimate:£2,096.33

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