Mario Balassi

Commissioned from the artist by Cardinal Carlo de Medici;
With Galerie Canesso, Paris, from whom acquired by the present owner in September 1999.

London, Voena and Robilant, Pittura Fiorentina XVII Secolo. Collezione Koelliker, 2003, pp. 10, 11, 41.

F. Baldinucci Notizie dei Professori del Disegno da Cimabue in Qua, 1846, vol. IV, pp. 590-591;
R. Carapelli in U. Peroni, Il Seicento Fiorentino. Arte a Firenze da Ferdinando I a Cosimo III, vol. I, Florence 1986, p. 33, vol. II, p. 307; 
M. Gregori, Pittura Fiorentina XVII Secolo. Collezione Koelliker, 2003, pp. 10, 11, 41.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The painting is lined and has been recently cleaned and restored. The paint layer is stable and flat. There is a scattering of restorations to be seen across the background and one or two to the flesh tones. The impastoed paint to the jewels and the dress is very well preserved. The paint saturates well and the varnish is not discoloured. Overall, the painting is in a good original condition. Offered in a gilt wood frame with some damages."
"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."

Vittoria della Rovere (1622-1695), daughter of Federico Ubaldo della Rovere and Claudia de Medici, married her cousin Ferdinand II Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in July 1637.  According to Baldinucci the portrait was commissioned by Ferdinand II's uncle, Cardinal Carlo de Medici, to mark their marriage and there was a second painting which depicted the Grand Duke as Saint George (now lost).¹  Vittoria is portrayed in sumptuous contemporary dress as Saint Vittoria with her martyr's palm and bloodied sword.  Baldinucci writes that Francesco Rondinelli, the Grand Duke's librarian who planned many of the decorative programmes for the wedding, came up with the iconography.² His choice of saint was particularly pertinent not only in name but also in narrative.  According to legend Saint Vittoria refused the marriage her parents had arranged for her on account of the pagan beliefs of her husband, Eugenius, who then imprisoned her and tried to starve her into submission.  She remained adamant in her Christian beliefs and her refusal to marry so Eugenius denounced her as a Christian and handed her over to the authorities where she was martyred with a sword through her heart.  The text on the ribbon is taken from the Second Book of Kings 12: 28 "may victory be associated to my name".  The implication being that whilst Vittoria and Ferdinand's marriage was arranged for dynastic reasons the bride was fortunate in her choice of bridegroom and their shared Catholic faith. 

For a number of years the present picture was only known through a drawing of Vittoria della Rovere turned to the right holding a martyr's palm.³  Recently not only has the present picture become known but also a small oval copper of the same composition, 16.5 cm diameter.⁴ (with Trinity Fine Art 1997, and exhibited at Maastricht Stand no. 153, reproduced in colour The Burlington Magazine, vol. CXXXIX, no. 1128, March 1997, p. viii).

According to Baldinucci Mario Balassi was chosen for this portrait because he was known to practise hard at his art and was familiar with the techniques of the best painters.⁵  Balassi studied in Florence under Jacopo Ligozzi, Matteo Rosselli and Passignano.  His oeuvre included a number of portraits of contemporary figures as saints (see for example the Saint Margaret in the Bob Jones Collection at Greenwich, South Carolina) as well as religious paintings and a number of copies after other Italian masters.  The present painting was probably executed whilst Balassi was still in Florence before he travelled to Rome and Vienna. 

1. F. Baldinucci Notizie dei Professori del Disegno da Cimabue in Qua, 1846, vol. IV, pp. 590-591.
2. Ibid., pp. 590-591.
3. R. Carapelli, in  U. Peroni, Il Seicento Fiorentino. Arte a Firenze da Ferdinando I a Cosimo III, vol. I, Florence 1986, p. 33, vol. II, p. 307.
4. With Trinity Fine Art, 1997; reproduced in colour in The Burlington Magazine, vol. CXXXIX, no. 1128, March 1997, p. viii).
5. Baldinucci, op. cit., pp. 590-591