ORAZIO VECELLIO | PORTRAIT OF MARGHERITA GONZAGA (1564 - 1618), AGE 10, FULL LENGTH, WITH A DOG

Nicolas van Slochem (1902-1976), London;

By whom sold ("The Property of Nicolas van Slochem, Esq."), London, Sotheby's, 30 May 1962, lot 146, to Dent;

With Savile Gallery, London (according to label on reverse).

Margherita Gonzaga, shown here at age 10, was the daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua (1538-1587) and Eleonora of Austria (1534-1594). After she married Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara in February 1579, Margherita became the sponsor of balletto delle donne, an important performance by women at the Este court.

The same year this portrait was made, Orazio Vecellio also painted a portrait of Margherita's younger sister, Anna Caterina Gonzaga (1566-1621) that sold at Sotheby's in 2000.¹ Both works show the sisters wearing the same burgundy gown in an interior setting with a dog, and while this composition includes a window overlooking a landscape and a table, the other only has two chairs. Vecellio likely became familiar with the Court of Mantua through his father, Titian (1488-1576), who painted the Gonzaga family on multiple occasions.

^1. Oil on canvas, 140 by 106.6 cm. See anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 6 July 2000, lot 124.