Circle Of Giovanni Carbone (italian, 1614-1683) - Apr 22, 2017 | New Orleans Auction Galleries In La
LiveAuctioneers Logo

lots of lots

Circle of Giovanni Carbone (Italian, 1614-1683)

Related Paintings

More Items in Paintings

View More

Recommended Art

View More
item-52255033=1
Circle of Giovanni Carbone (Italian, 1614-1683)
Circle of Giovanni Carbone (Italian, 1614-1683)
Item Details
Description
Circle of Giovanni Bernardo Carbone
(Italian, 1614-1683)

"Portrait of a Gentle Lady in Mourning, Seated in a Bargello Chair"

oil on canvas
unsigned. Presented in a 19th-century giltwood frame.
47-7/8" x 39"

Provenance: Herbie Oakes Collection, Houston, Texas.

Notes: Giovanni Bernardo Carbone (sometimes spelled Carboni) was an Italian painter from Genoa, who studied under Giovanni Andrea de Ferrari, a pupil of Anthony van Dyck. While Ferrari preferred religious scenes, which he perfected in the form of altarpieces, Carbone's forte was portraiture - of all the Genoese artists, his work is the most closely allied to van Dyck's portraits from the 1630s, which were strongly influenced by the Venetian colorists. After a year-long sojourn in Venice, van Dyck established himself as a prolific portraitist in Genoa from 1621-1627, painting the wealthy with a grandeur that combined the Flemish penchant for detailed refinery and expressive hand and facial gestures/expressions with the color and subtle modeling of Titian. Van Dyck's presence in Genoa opened a tremendous door of opportunity in the decades that followed for the young Carbone; there was abundant demand for the growing mercantile class to ennoble themselves since the city was both the capital and center of maritime trade in the Liguria region.
The painting offered here is strongly suggestive of the portraiture Carbone executed in the manner of van Dyck for the Genoese gentry, and closely resembles the physiognomy, dress and execution of two well-known portraits by van Dyck - "Dorothy, Lady Dacre" (1633) in the British Burger Collection (now housed in the Denver Art Museum), and "Lady with a Rose" in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Like the aforementioned portraits, the imposing presence of the sitter is depicted in three-quarters view from below, so that the viewer is forced to look upward in admiration at the social position she wields. Even in mourning, she is larger than life, occupying two-thirds of the picture plane with the same voluminous black taffeta gown and diaphanous silk hair-piece as the other two portraits. In all three works, the fabric cascades downward onto the viewer with the weight of their prestige. In Carbone's portrait, the fine modeling of the face, detailed lace rebato - a lighter version of the ruff collar - black pearls and elongated expressive hands (another van Dyckian convention) that touch the breast and finger the embroidered handkerchief all bespeak of the sitter's position within a prominent family.
In addition to the rich, imported fabrics and pearls, perhaps the most telling example of her mercantile wealth is the stunning Bargello patterned chair in which she sits with its prominently displayed gilt brass/bronze floral rivets and architectonic finials. The fine Bargello needlepoint, characterized by colorful geometric patterns, is believed to have originated in Hungary, and was imported into Italy in the 17th century. One of the earliest known examples of the Hungarian point, a set of upholstered armchairs conserved at the Bargello Museum in Florence, bears a striking resemblance to the chair pictured here. The "Lady in Mourning's" identity, though unknown, is very much embedded in the fabric of Genoese portraiture tradition.
Condition
The painting exhibits two previous campaigns of professional restoration. Inpainted "retouching" to the background, original seam lines and upper left corner, followed by an application of varnish, were applied some time ago. More current restoration, ca. 1980s, includes inpainted "retouching" to the face, hands and right side of the hair; and relining and re-stretching the canvas on metal bolt sretchers. In overall very good condition.
Buyer's Premium
  • 25%

Circle of Giovanni Carbone (Italian, 1614-1683)

Estimate $5,000 - $8,000
See Sold Price
Starting Price $4,000
14 bidders are watching this item.

Shipping & Pickup Options
Item located in New Orleans, LA, us
See Policy for Shipping

Payment

New Orleans Auction Galleries

New Orleans Auction Galleries

badge TOP RATED
New Orleans, LA, United States11,427 Followers
TOP