Portrait of Pope Clement XIV (1705-1774), in country attire, on horseback, with Lake Albano and Castel Gandolfo beyond

Details

Attributed to Giovanni Domenico Porta (San Maurizo d'Opaglio 1722-1780 Rome)
Portrait of Pope Clement XIV (1705-1774), in country attire, on horseback, with Lake Albano and Castel Gandolfo beyond
oil on canvas
29 1/8 x 24 1/8 in. (74 x 61.2 cm.)

Provenance

Mrs James de Rothschild, Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire and St. James's Square, London; sold Christie's, London, 19 November 1971, lot 98, as 'Giovanni Domenico Porta'.
with F. Romano, Rome.
The Ortolani collection, Rome; later moved to Montevideo, Uruguay.
Acquired from the above by the current owner.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU or, if the UK has withdrawn from the EU without an agreed transition deal, from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Further details

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker

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Lot Essay

The present painting is likely that on which the print by Giovanni Volpato is based (British Museum, no. 1987, 1212.44). The print reverses the composition of the painting, which is marginally altered to allow the Pope to be blessing with his right hand in both cases. Another version of Porta's work was in the Giacomo Nunes collection, Rome, as noted by Olivier Michel ('Giovanni Domenico Porta', Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire, 1968, 80, no. 1, pp. 321-326, no. 23 and following).
A related equestrian portrait of the Pope in more formal dress, by an unidentified artist, is held in the Convento dei Santi Apostoli, Rome, and is identified as the Cavalcata papale, the solemn horse-ride through the city on the day of the possession of the Basilica Laternanense.

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