Matteo Loves (Italian, active 1625-1662) and Giovanni Battista Pesari (Italian, fl. 1645) Portrait of Maria Caterina Farnese, Duchess of Modena, circa 1633 Oil on canvas laid on panel 30 x 26-1/2 inches (76.2 x 67.3 cm) PROVENANCE: Estate of Josephine Bory, Washington, D.C.; Private collection, Florida, acquired from the above, 1990s. In 1632, Guercino was invited to the ducal court at Modena to paint full-length portraits of the Duke and Duchess, Francesco I d'Este (1610-1658) and Maria Caterina Farnese (1615-1645), an attractive young couple who were married the previous year in her native Parma. Although he could barely keep up with the commissions he was awarded, the gifted painter accepted the Duke's offer to reside at court to produce likenesses of his hosts for which he was paid 630 scudi. In October 1632, the Duke sent his carriage to Guercino's residence in Cento to collect him as well as his two assistants, Matteo Loves and Bartolomeo Gennari. Upon the group's arrival in Modena, Loves was dispatched to Bologna to buy essential materials and paints. In just over two months, the paintings were finished. Because the Duke was away in Reggio Emilia, his second titular city, at the time the portraits were finished, he sent word to his secretary to pack the pictures and send them to Reggio so that he could study them. In 1633, Guercino and his team were back in Modena so that Guercino could oversee the production of two sets of studio copies of his original portraits, which had pleased the Duke and Duchess. The copies were to be carried out by Guercino's assistants-a condition of the artist's agreement with the Duke. One set, now preserved in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva, Switzerland (inv. nos. CR0010 and CR0011), and painted at full length, is considered to be the work of Matteo Loves. The second set, which Loves started but had to abandon after becoming seriously ill, was completed by a Modenese painter, Giovanni Battista Pesari (fl. 1645). The present work, though cut to half length, would be the portrait of Maria Caterina from this second set. The whereabouts of her husband's companion portrait from this set are currently unknown. The copies of Guercino's original portraits serve as important visual records of his primary versions that have been considered lost since the mid-18th century. We see in the Geneva pair that Francesco I is dashingly attired in black, with lace collar and cuffs, and great gilt pompoms adorning his shoes. He stands against a sumptuous red curtain pulled aside to afford a glimpse of his city. Maria Caterina is posed in an interior against parted draperies in a magnificent red gown embroidered lavishly and encrusted with pearls. Her right hand reaches to a side table where she touches a pair of gloves. The present copy faithfully records the magnificence of Guercino's meticulous attention to her fashionable dress. It is adorned with a veritable sea of pearls: dozens stud the heavy red fabric, drop pearl earrings peek out from under her hair, seven luminous drop pearls drip from her hair ornament, a brilliant pearl collar encircles her neck, the fashionable lace collar is held by a pearl-encrusted brooch, and several ropes of perfectly matched pearls cascade across her bodice. The origin of the pearls is undeterminable: they could have been harvested in Europe or brought in from the Far East or the recently discovered Americas. But one thing is irrefutable: such a large number indicates access to a vast wealth of resources. The pearls of the rope and collar are matched in shape, a feat which a jeweler could only accomplish through patient gathering over time. Unlike their semiprecious and precious counterparts, pearls were not cut or re-shaped, and a strand of matched pearls was worth more than the sum of its parts. The wealth displayed here cannot be overstated; the number rivals the roughly seven hundred pearls worn by Queen Elizabeth I in the Armada Portrait (1588). This calculated display is meant to convey a message of splendor, both visual and economic, and the enduring power of the Farnese. It is both literal - pearls were their own form of currency- and metaphorical, speaking to the financial prowess and maritime ambitions of the Farnese. The pearls may not have all belonged to the sitter, as it was common practice at the time to borrow from others, but a combination of borrowed and family jewels would indicate the strong cultural capital of the family. Maria Caterina's mother was the sole heir of the Aldobrandini family, another important source of her personal wealth. Additionally, only a high-ranking elite would be allowed to dress so luxuriously, as sumptuary laws of the period were strictly enforced, limiting the degree and type of such excesses.. While pearls today are often viewed as symbols of purity and innocence, the iconographic associations of the pearl in the 17th century were more complex. Mainly derived from the writings of Pliny, the jewel was paradoxically linked to both the procreative and destructive powers of the sea. A pearl's susceptibility to decay emphasized the mortality and the fragility of the human body, while its mysterious creation and luminous nacre underscored notions of sensuality, genesis, and renewal. The array of pearls here may suggest that while the sitter's beauty may fade and decay, the power of the Farnese family would endure. HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

On stable secondary panel support. Frame abrasion at edges. Two horizontal lines of repair faintly visible in upper left corner. Yellowing to the varnish layer. Finely patterned craquelure throughout, stabilized beneath the varnish layer. A few scattered small dots of surface abrasion in the background in the upper half of the work. Mild surface dirt and dust. Not examined out of frame.
Under UV: heavily applies varnish fluoresces green unevenly. Brushy retouching at edges and to aforementioned repairs in the background in the upper half of the work. An older campaign of restoration, beneath the varnish layer, appears as brushy retouching to the lower half of the figure's face, primarily affecting her cheeks and jaw. Some apparent strengthening applied to the white highlights of the figure's necklace and central brooch. Some additional scattered finely applied dots and dashes of retouching throughout the figure's costume.
Framed Dimensions 41.5 X 37.5 X 4.5 Inches Heritage Auctions strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. Statements by Heritage regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Heritage. All lots offered are sold "AS IS"