Portrait of Berthe Thorwaldsen with bust of Horace Vernet - 1833

1833

Image dimensions: 48.4 x 33.2 cm Busto di Geta (Bust of Geta) is a superb black and white burin and etching on paper, realized by the artist Pietro Fontana, after Agostino Tofanelli, as the inscriptions on plate on the lower margin report “Agostino Tofanelli delineò / Pietro Fontana incise Roma”. This original print is numbered on plate in Roman numerals on the higher margin: “Tom II. / Tav. XXII" and is a plate from the series "Illustrazioni de' Monumenti scelti Borghesiani già esistenti nella Villa sul Pincio (..) date ora per la prima volta in luce dal cav. Gio. Gherardo De Rossi e da Stefano Piale sotto la guida di Vincenzo Feoli", by Ennio Quirino Visconti, published by Stamperia de Romanis in Rome in 1821. This old master’s original print shows a beautiful piece of the Borghese's collection: a marble bust of Geta in a neoclassical style. Geta (full name Publius Septimius Geta) was the son of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, and the brother of Caracalla. He was a Roman co-emperor from 209 to 212 AD, first with his father and then with his brother. His biography is very interesting: he was the younger son of Septimius Severus and his second wife; his face was obliterated because of the damnatio memoriae ordered by his brother Caracalla, who had him assassinated. In excellent conditions, with some light signs of time, some sporadic minor stains along the lower margin, and a usual and imperceptible yellowing of the paper on the margins. This wonderful etching has preserved its charming and fresh impression. Pietro Fontana (Bassano Romano, 1762 – Rome, 1837) The Italian artist and engraver Pietro Fontana was active in Rome and specialized in subjects dealing with the Vatican and the Papacy. He started his career as student of Raffaello Morghen...

Portrait is an original artwork realized by Paton Thomson (1750 - 1821 ca.). Original Etching from J.C. Lavater's "Essays on Physiognomy, Designed to promote the Knowledge and the L...

Dominicus van der Smissen Early 18th Century Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch Oil on canvas Image size: 20½ x 16¼ inches Period gilt frame This is a portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, composer, Kapellmeister and organist, whom Van der Smissen most probably portrayed during his stay in Hamburg, Brunswick or Amsterdam. The identification is based on the reproduction of the portrait which was engraved by Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak (1740- 1774). Van der Smissen has reduced the face of the sitters to an egg-shaped oval in three-quarter view, applying diminution to one half of the figure’s torso, which is farther away from the viewer. This partial side view, with the head turned to look at the viewer over the shoulder, creates spatial depth and brings the figure to life by avoiding the stiffness of a frontal depiction. Because the artist chose to highlight the figure from above, a distinct shadow is cast under the tip of the nose, in the shape of a triangle. This is an often recurring and almost ‘signature’-like feature in Van der Smissen’s oeuvre. Hurlebusch's garments are of a very high quality and serve to reflect the sitter’s wealth, status and elegance. During this period, gentlemen often shaved their heads in order to facilitate the wearing of a wig, which wouldbe worn with a suit. Here Hurlebusch has been depicted in a luxurious turban-like cap lined with lynx fur, a highly fashionable and expensive material at the time. Over his shirt, he wears a velvet fur-lined gown adorned with decorative clasps fashioned from silver braid. The elegant informality of his appearance can be seen in his unbuttoned shirt and the unfastened black ribbon hanging from his button hole, which has been artfully arranged into a fluttering drape by the portraitist. The Sitter Hurlebusch was born in Brunswick, Germany. He received the first instructions in his field from his father Heinrich Lorenz Hurlebusch, who was also a musician. As an organ virtuoso, he toured Europe, visiting Vienna, Munich and Italy. From 1723 to 1725 he was Kapellmeister in Stockholm; later he became Kapellmeister in Bayreuth and Brunswick, and lived in Hamburg from 1727 to 1742, where he had contact with fellow composers Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann. He made his living composing, performing and teaching. In 1735 and 1736, he is believed to have visited Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, who promoted Hurlebusch’s compositions as the local seller...

PORTRAIT OF UGO FOSCOLO - Oil on canvas cm.50x40, Antonio Jannone, Italy, 2002. this beautiful portrait of the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo is the painter's pe...