Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
The Art of Pastel: A Swiss Private Collection
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau
Portrait of Don Giacomo Milano Franco d'Aragona, Prince of Ardore (1699-1780)
Auction Closed
January 25, 04:44 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
The Art of Pastel: A Swiss Private Collection
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau
Paris 1715 - 1783 Amsterdam
Portrait of Don Giacomo Milano Franco d'Aragona, Prince of Ardore (1699-1780)
Pastel;
signed and dated, lower right: Perroneau pinxit / 1748 (writing of date has been strengthened)
595 by 500 mm; 23 ½ by 19 ¾ in.
by descent to Duchesse Donna Giulia Milano Franco d'Aragona, wife of the Duc Giovanni Riario Sforza,
Duc Giovanni Riario Sforza,
Duc, Nicola Riario Sforza,
General Duc Giovanni Battista Riario Sforza;
Private Collection, Switzerland
With Galerie Matthiesen, A Selection of French Paintings 1700-1840 offered for sale, London, 1989, no. 14, reproduced pl. 2,
where acquired by Jacques-Louis Isoz
L. Vaillat & P. Ratouis de Limay, Jean Baptiste Perroneau sa vie et son oeuvre, Paris 1909, no. 26;
L. Vaillat & P. Ratouis de Limay, Jean Baptiste Perroneau sa vie et son oeuvre, Paris 1923, pp. 27, 212;
BHAF, 1930, p. 218;
Advert in Burlington Magazine, vol. CXXXI / 1030, January 1989, p. VI;
N. Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, London 2006, p. 397, reproduced/ online edition, no. J.582.1026;
D. Arnoult, 'Un Portrait de Jean-Baptiste Perroneau aux Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique: Tableaux au pastel et à L'huile dans la commande du Prince D'Ardore, Ambassadeur du Roi des deux-siciles à la cour de Louis XV' in Le Bulletin de L'Association des historiens de l'art italien, 2008 no. 13, reproduced fig. 1;
D. d'Arnoult, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, ca. 1715–1783. Un portraitiste dans l’Europe des Lumières, Paris, 2014, no. 54 Pa, reproduced in colour p. 38;
N. Jeffares, “Perronneau, les imitateurs et les revenances de plaisir”, in Perronneau 2017, pp. 42–52, 2017b, fig. 4
The sitter in this regal and stately portrait is Don Giacomo Milano Franco d'Aragona, Prince of Ardore (1699-1780), whose official titles and dignitary positions are impressively listed in Dominique d'Arnoult’s catalogue entry: ‘…duc de San Paolo, marquis de San Giorgio et de Polistena (Polistena, 4 mai 1699 - id., 28 novembre 1780), ambassadeur extraordinaire du roi des Deux-Siciles à la cour de Louis XV, est le descendant d'une très illustre famille implantée au XVII° siècle à Polistena (Calabre) et a Naples.’1
In addition to his ambassadorial roles and holding of significant Orders, the Prince of Ardore was also a talented musician and composer. He organised concerts in Paris, which were well received and highly revered by his contemporaries. Jean Jacques Rousseau, the Genevan philosopher, writer and composer remarked: 'C'est par ce grand art de préluder que brillent en France les excellents organistes, tels que sont maintenant les sieurs Calvière et Daquin, surpassés toutefois l'un et l'autre par M. le prince d'Ardore, ambassadeur de Naples, lequel, pour la vivacité de l'invention de la force de l'exécution, efface les plus illustres artistes, et fait à Paris l'admiration des connaisseurs.’2
Dated 1748, the present portrait was a private commission, ordered by the prince himself, to mark the end of his tenure at the Embassy in Paris. In payment instructions from the prince to his banker, Verzura, the pastel is recorded along with its pendant depicting the Prince’s wife, La Princesse d'Ardore, née Arighetta Caracciolo di Santo Buono (d'Arnoult no. 55 Pa), a replica of the Prince’s portrait executed in oil, (d'Arnoult no. 56 P) and an engraved plate with the Prince’s coat of arms.
This pastel and its pendant were taken to Naples when the Prince of Ardore located there in 1749; the portrait of the Prince remained with his descendants until 1956. Perronneau’s portrait confronts the viewer directly and is executed in a magnificent blend of colors, perfectly in harmony with one another. His frontal position commands authority, but the rendering of the eyes suggests a gentle, wise man rather than one who has been affected by grandeur. The Prince is depicted wearing the insignia of two orders; on the left, the Royal Order of Saint Januarius and from right to left, the cross of the order of the Saint-Esprit. The inclusion of the ornate insignia allows Perronneau the opportunity to incorporate rich reds, blues and golds, adding vibrancy to the more subdued greens and grays that are ever present in the artist's subtle and accomplished portraits.
1. D. d'Arnoult, 2014, op.cit., p. 226, no. 54 Pa
2. Ibid