North Italian School, late 16th Century

Portrait of Margaret, Duchess of Parma (1522-1586), full-length, in a white embroidered dress, holding a fan, at a table

Details

North Italian School, late 16th Century
Portrait of Margaret, Duchess of Parma (1522-1586), full-length, in a white embroidered dress, holding a fan, at a table
inscribed and dated 'Margt. Duchess/of Parma. 1559.' (upper left)
oil on canvas
76¼ x 46½ in. (193.7 x 118 cm.)

Provenance

By descent to the 7th Earl of Warwick, Warwick Castle; Christie's, 21 June 1968, lot 72, as 'Veronese' (750 gns.).

Literature

W. Field, An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Town and Castle of Warwick, Warwick, 1815, p. 194, as by Titian, hung in the State Bedroom, over the chimneypiece.
Henry T. Cooke, An Historical and Descriptive Guide to Warwick Castle, Warwick, 1847, p. 46, as by Veronese, hung in the Red Drawing Room, opposite the window to the left.
Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, III, London, 1854, p. 215, as by Titian, but 'the conception and colouring rather indicate a fine work by Veronese.'

Exhibited

London, Grafton Gallery, Fair Women, 1894, no. 28, as 'Veronese'.

Lot Essay

The sitter was born in the Netherlands, the illegitimate child of the Emperor Carl V and Janneke van der Gheenst. She was betrothed to Alexander di Medici, a nephew of Pope Clement VII, at the age of seven, and was raised in Italy from 1533, marrying Alexander in 1536. Her husband was killed the following year, and she subsequently married Ottavio Farnese, a grandson of Pope Paul III,in 1538, giving birth to a son, Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, in 1545. After living in Parma and Rome, Margaretha moved to the Netherlands in 1559, when King Philip II of Spain appointed her Regent of the Netherlands. As the influence of Protestantism became increasingly dominant, culminating in the iconoclastic outburst of 1566, Margaretha was a loyal supporter of Catholocism. She asked the King to release her from her duties after the arrival of Alva in 1567, and in the same year left Brussels to return to Parma. In 1579-80, King Philip tried to persuade her to resume control of the civil government in the Netherlands, while her son, Alexander, undertook military affaris. However Alexander objected, and persuaded the King to give him complete control. Margaretha remained in the Netherlands until 1583, when she returned to Aquila.

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