Circle of Annibale Carracci

Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome;
By descent to his nephew Odoardo I Farnese;
By descent to his son Ranuccio II Farnese, Palazzo del Giardino, Parma;
Private collection, Genoa, since 1930. 

"Inventario dei beni Farnese, 2 novembre 1641," (Archivio Segreto Vaticano, arm. LXI, reg. 14), in B. Jestaz (ed.), Le Palais Farnèse, III, 3, L'Inventaire du Palais et des propriétés Farnèse à Rome en 1644, Rome 1994, p. 126, note 99 (in the stanza del Guardarobba, "Uno in tela, cornice di noce tocca d'oro, ritratto del Cardinale a sedere.");
Also recorded in the 1644 inventory, as cat. no. 3082 (op. cit.);
"Quadri di Palazzo del Giardino di Parma nel 1680 c." (Naples, Archivio Farnesiano, Casa e Corte Farnesiana, s. VIII, b.54), in G. Bertini, La Galleria del duca di Parma, Storia di una collezione, Bologna 1987, p. 257 (in the Appartamento del Ser.mo Principe Odoardo - Camera vicina alla Galleria di S. A. S.sma: "514. Un quardo alto braccia due, oncie una, e mezza, largo braccia uno oncie sette, e mezza. Un ritratto del Sig.r Cardinale Odoardo con rocchetto, tiene nella destra un breviario posto sopra di una tavola coperta di scarlato, e nella sinistra un memoriale, di...n. 646."

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is in very good state, although it has not been restored for many years. The canvas has an old glue lining. The cracking is slightly raised, but the paint layer is stable and the surface is attractive. There is a diagonal restoration of about 5 inches in the chest of the figure. This is the only restoration of any significance. There may be a few other restorations, particularly around the edges. The picture is clearly unabraded. If the work were carefully cleaned, a lot more color and depth would become evident. The condition is extremely good, and a small amount of restoration would make further improvements.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

In this intimate portrait, the great collector and patron Odoardo Farnese is shown seated before a window which gives on to the River Tiber and the Villa Farnesina. The artist must have been a member of the cardinal's close entourage for the figure shown center right with his dog is "Hairy Harry," the cardinal's court entertainer, who is known from Agostino Carracci's portrait of Hairy Harry, Mad Peter and Tiny Amon, in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples (fig. 1). There can be no doubt about the identify of the cardinal because the Farnese family coat-of-arms is shown on the inkwell on the table and his physiognomy is known from Annibale Carracci's Christ in glory with saints and Odoardo Farnese in the Uffizi, Florence (fig. 2), as well as Domenichino's portrait in a private collection. 

From the window the Villa Farnesina can be seen, where Raphael's frescoes can be found, with Gianicolo Hill. This is the view from the Palazzetto Farnese, built by Odoardo in 1602 on the bank of the Tiber, which is linked to the main Palazzo Farnese by a covered corridor over the Via Giulia. In the Palazzetto Odoardo created the Camerino degli Eremiti, a private hideaway for his circle of intellectuals to meet, which was conceived by Annibale Carracci and frescoed by Lanfranco and Domenichino.

All the aforementioned artists working in Odoardo's milieu were pupils of Annibale Carracci but the present portrait comes closest in style to the work of Domenichino. Richard Spear does not feel that the work can be attributed to Domenichino while Francesco Petrucci does feel that it is a typical work by the artist from circa 1600-02.