Giacomo Ceruti

Dr. Vera Oldfelt, Sweden, by 1927, from whom acquired by
Birger Svenonius, Resarö, Sweden, by 1938.
 

Stockholm, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Namnlösa porträt: utställning anordnad av Svenska Dagbladet, January 15-30, 1938, cat. no 538 (as "Gentleman in a purple robe");
Karlstad, Sweden, Värmlands Museum, Äldre Mästares Tavlor, November 6, 1941 - January 6, 1942, cat. no. 41, reproduced (as François-Hubert Drouais).

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 painting should most likely be cleaned. The lining has stabilized the surface, although slightly impressed the impasto in the embroidery of the gentleman's coat. The varnish is extremely dulling and robs the picture of its texture; additionally there is a significant layer of dirt. If the picture were to be cleaned, the palette and the texture would become more lively. There is a slight wave to the lining on the right and left side, which could be corrected. Under ultraviolet light the face, the hands and a good deal of the clothing worn by the figure are in healthy state. There is some faint retouching visible in the fur lining of the purple cloak in the lower right and there are retouches in the background around the head. There is an old break in the canvas in the background to the right of the head, and there may be another structural damage to the left of the eye, also in the background. Overall however, the condition is healthy and this picture will improve significantly with cleaning.
"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."

Although more famous for his paintings of beggars and peasants, Ceruti produced some of the most insightful and naturalistic portraiture of his era, clearly applying the same sharp and observant eye to his sitters as he used when depicting the common folk of his genre pictures.  The present work is typical of his portrait style, with the engaging glance of the young man portrayed, and the use of an oval canvas, a format which Ceruti regularly employed.

Ceruti was documented as working in Padua in 1738/9 and then presumably came to Venice, where he appears to have worked for a short time and where he certainly became exposed to and absorbed the influence of the local school.  Mina Gregori, who has seen the present Portrait of a Gentleman firsthand, dates it to after this sojourn in the Veneto.  She compares it to other portraits he painted in the 1740s and 50s, noting that the attention to detail in the decoration of the sitter's jacket as well as the extended, three-quarter length format of the portrait were devices he employed during this period.  The Portrait of Vincenzo Cigala (private collection, Brescia) and the Portrait of a Gentleman of the Bargnani Family (Palazzo Comunale, Adro) are apt comparisons (see M. Gregori, Giacomo Ceruti, Milan 1982, cat. nos. 212, 214).  Perhaps an even closer parallel is provided by Ceruti's impressive Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour (private collection, Trento, see M. Gregori, Giacomo Ceruti, Milan 1982, cat. no. 181, illus, figs. 181-181a) which dates from Ceruti's residence in the Emilian town of Piacenza, where he was recorded from 1743-7.  That painting was signed and dated Piacenza 1743 before it was relined, and is similar in tone, with the same elegantly posed, upraised hand, but in mirror image.