Lot Essay
Ceruti was one of a group of artists working in Bergamo and Brescia in the first half of the 18th Century, known for the directness and freshness with which they observed their subjects. Known for his low-life and genre scenes, he was nicknamed il Pitocchetto after the beggars and vagabonds (pitocchi) that he often depicted. He also worked as a portraitist, receiving commissions from the nobility of the area, as well as Milan and Piacenza where he worked in the 1740s.
The sitter here is shown wearing a type of kimono that was fashionable in Europe during the 18th Century. First worn in Holland in the last quarter of the 17th Century, where they were called a Japonsche Rock, these garments were based upon the ceremonial gifts of kimonos presented to Dutch East India Company officers by the Japanese shoguns. They rapidly came to be seen as an item of prestige as much as of fashion, and their desirability spread across the continent, becoming a particularly popular costume for portraits.
The sitter here is shown wearing a type of kimono that was fashionable in Europe during the 18th Century. First worn in Holland in the last quarter of the 17th Century, where they were called a Japonsche Rock, these garments were based upon the ceremonial gifts of kimonos presented to Dutch East India Company officers by the Japanese shoguns. They rapidly came to be seen as an item of prestige as much as of fashion, and their desirability spread across the continent, becoming a particularly popular costume for portraits.