Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A. (1836-1912)

Una Carita

Details

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A. (1836-1912)
Una Carita
signed and inscribed 'CCLI -/ L Alma Tadema opus' (on the sash)
oil on board
4¼ x 3¼ in. (10.8 x 8.3 cm.)

Provenance

Painted for Giovanni Battista Amendola's Tombola, Naples, May 1883.
Count Padio Gaetani; Sotheby's, Belgravia, 27 June 1978, lot 51.
with Owen Edgar, London, until 1980.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 5 June 1981, lot 45.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 25 November 2003, lot 151, where purchased by the present owner.

Literature

Alma-Tadema's letter to C. Vosmaer, May 1883, in C.J.G. Vosmaer, Alma-Tadema Catalogue Raisonné, unpublished MS, Leiden, circa 1885.
R. Dircks, 'The Later Works of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A., R.W.S.', Art Journal, Christmas Supplement, London, 1910, p. 31.
Connoisseur, CXCVIII, June 1978, p. 117, illustrated.
V.G. Swanson, The Biography and Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1990, pp. 288, 416, no. 288, illustrated.

Exhibited

Utah, Brigham Young University, The Unknown Alma-Tadema, February 1979, no. 28.

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Lot Essay

Una Carita was painted some time in May 1883. According to a letter from Alma-Tadema to Deschamps, dated 11 May, he was residing at the Hotel Tramontano at the Casa Victor Emmanuel in Naples during that month.

This picture seems to have been painted very quickly, perhaps even alla prima with some later touches, probably because it was intended as a gift. It is striking for both its size; it is the smallest of Alma-Tadema's opus numbered paintings, and the dramatic foreshortening - the most marked use of this device within his oeuvre.

We are grateful to Dr Vern Swanson for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.

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