Lot 588
  • 588

CARL VON BLAAS | The Prince of Valmontone with the Donna Gwendalina Doria Pamphili and Bertram Talbot in a Villa Garden

Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 USD
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Description

  • Carl von Blaas
  • The Prince of Valmontone with the Donna Gwendalina Doria Pamphili and Bertram Talbot in a Villa Garden 
  • signed C. Blaas. pinse., dated 1851 and inscribed Il Principe di Valmontone età sua 8 anni/ Donna Gwendalina/ Doria Pamphili età 5/ Bertram Talbot/ età 19/ Roma (center left)
  • oil on canvas
  • 59 by 72 in.
  • 150 by 182.9 cm

Provenance

The Valmontone Family 
Thence by descent through the family 
Trosby Galleries, Palm Beach
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Perry, Jr. (and sold, Sotheby's, New York, February 29, 1984, lot 9, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Condition

Examined in the frame. The work has an old lining. There is minor rippling to the canvas in the upper left. Faint fine craquelure is visible on the foreheads of the younger boy and girl. Under UV: there is an uneven heavy green varnish, which makes the surface difficult to read in many areas. Finely applied restoration is visible on the proper left side of the oldest boy's face and one small area on his proper right cheek. There is a small area of restoration on the proper right knee of the boy in red, with some reinforcement to his proper right cuff.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Carl von Blaas was an Austrian history, portrait and genre painter and the father of Eugen von Blaas (see lots 418 and 436). He was a professor at the Vienna Academy and in 1877, after completing a series of frescoes for the Arsenal in Vienna, he was elected to hereditary nobility by Emperor Franz Joseph I. The little girl in the present lot is Gwendalina Doria Pamphili (b. 1846). Her brother, Giovanni-Andrea, the Prince of Valmontone (b. 1843), stands to her right in red. Both children are distantly related to the older, seated boy, Bertram Talbot, the future 17th Earl of Shrewsbury, through their mother, the daughter of the 16th Earl of Shrewsbury. This painting is a representation of the consolidation of power between two prominent nineteenth century families. Set on the hilltop city of Valmontone, the composition features Rome and St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance, evocative of both the power these two families joined together and their strong devotion to the Catholic church.