Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, Receiving a Letter from the Council
Artist/Maker
DatesMade: Executed probably 1500-talet
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 128,5 x 172,5 cm h x w x d: Ram 150 x 193 x 9 cm
Inventory numberNM 19
AcqusitionTransferred 1866 from Kongl. Museum
Other titlesTitel (sv): Caterina Cornaro, Cyperns drottning, mottager brev från rådet i Venedig Titel (en): Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, Receiving a Letter from the Council Titel (en): Semiramis Called to Arms
DescriptionRes. Katalogtext: Description in Italian Paintings: Three Centuries of Collecting, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2015, cat.no. 100: FORMER INV. NOS.: 127 (B. 1830s); KM 1077. TECHNICAL NOTES: The support consists of a single piece of coarse, plain-weave linen fabric. It has been lined with glue and mounted on a non-original stretcher. The tacking edges are probably cropped, and the existing edges are covered with strips of paper. The ground is red and there is a beige imprimatura. Impastos in the paint layer have been flattened because of the lining. There are numerous retouches throughout. The varnish is thick and yellowed. Documented restorations: 1870–71: Restored by Brunkal; 1927: Old overpaintings and varnish removed. PROVENANCE: Byström 1852. BIBLIOGRAPHY: NM Cat. 1867, p. 2 (as Giorgione, Caterina Cornaro); Sander 1872–76, IV, p. 112, no. 26 (as Giorgione, Caterina Cornaro); NM Cat. 1958, p. 213 (as anonymous, 16th century, Caterina Cornaro); NM Cat. 1990, p. 416 (as anonymous, 16th century, Caterina Cornaro); Negro, Pirondini and Roio 2004, p. 57, no. 138 (as Caletti, Caterina Cornaro); Bentini 2008, pp. 335–336, no. 190 (as Caletti, Caterina Cornaro). The title of this painting has been changed from the original Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, Receiving a Letter from the Council in Venice, since it depicts a scene, not from the adventurous life of the Venetian ruler Caterina Cornaro as previously thought, but from the life of the legendary Queen Semiramis.¹ The historical Semiramis was the wife of the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad V (823–810 BC), and succeeded to the throne for a period after her husband’s death, until her son came of age. The Queen Semiramis of legend, on the other hand, was queen and successor to King Ninus, the eponymous founder of Nineveh. The two female figures seem to have fused together, and several classical writers tell of Semiramis’ rise to power and of her many achievements and bellicose deeds.² The episode depicted in the Nationalmuseum canvas is taken from the Roman writer Valerius Maximus’ Facta et dicta memorabilia (9.3 ext. 4), which offered moral guidance to ancient Roman society. The anecdote relates how Queen Semiramis received news while at her toilet that Babylon was in revolt, and instead of completing her coiffure immediately took up arms to restore calm. A statue of the queen, with part of her hair in loose disorder, was later erected in Babylon to commemorate the event.³ The specific subject matter of Semiramis Called to Arms can be found in various 17th century paintings, such as the three versions by Guercino. ⁴ In the Nationalmuseum canvas, a complex scene with three-quarter-length figures, Queen Semiramis is interrupted in the intimacy of her daily toilet. Dressed in a sumptuous bottle-green dress, she still holds in her hand a part of her blond hair not yet braided by the maid behind her. On the table in front of the queen lie a pearl necklace and other jewellery, and in a central focal position is the crown, indicating the high rank of the female protagonist. The black pageboy in fanciful dress, placed with his back to the viewer gazing out of the picture, introduces the spectator into the scene. Semiramis rises from her seated position to confront the incoming herald, her expression conveying her fear of an uncertain future, together with firm determination. The messenger wears a bright red garment over his shiny hauberk, by his side he carries a sword, and attached to the belt on his back is a small horn. He has taken off his plumed hat to salute the queen, and with his right hand he delivers a letter informing her of Babylon’s insurrection. In the Byström Collection, the canvas was highly esteemed and considered a work of Giorgione, depicting a scene from the life of the Queen of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro.⁵ The canvas entered the Nationalmuseum’s collections in 1852,⁶ when it was once again recorded as a work of Giorgione. ⁷ When this attribution was rejected, the painting was ascribed to a talented later Venetian painter.⁸ The canvas is today attributed to Giuseppe Caletti, known as il Cremonese.⁹ Giuseppe Caletti’s interest in old master paintings, especially by Titian and Dosso Dossi, and his imitative talent, together with his capacity to add an ancient patina to his works, have deceived many into attributing Caletti’s paintings to the most renowned artists of the 16th century.¹⁰ The Nationalmuseum painting was long considered a work of Giorgione,¹¹ and it is interesting to note that Caletti’s canvas Warrior with Shield, in Giorgione’s manner, was mistakenly considered a 16th-century work in the 1955 Venetian exhibition dedicated to Giorgione.¹² In the 1990 Nationalmuseum catalogue of European paintings, furthermore, the painting was ascribed to an anonymous Italian painter from the 1500s, still with the erroneous title.¹³ Semiramis Called to Arms is regarded as one of Giuseppe Caletti’s better works. It displays a similar chiaroscuro to Caletti’s Mark the Evangelist, ¹⁴ now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Ferrara and reputed to be the artist’s masterpiece, and the scarlet hue of the saint’s mantle in that painting is recalled in the messenger’s dress in the Nationalmuseum canvas.¹⁵ A dark, brownish background, rich colours for the figures and a reddish complexion to the faces, together with great concentration on the details, all characterize Caletti’s art and are present in the painting in Stockholm.¹⁶ se 1 I am indebted to Lino Moretti, who drew the Nationalmuseum’s attention to the erroneous title as early as 1991 and suggested a change to Semiramis Called to Arms as a more appropriate description of the canvas’s subject matter. He also confirms the attribution to Giuseppe Caletti. 2 Samuel 1944, p. 33; Archibald 2001, p. 38. 3 Walker 2004, pp. xiii–xxiv, 322. 4 Mahon 1949, pp. 217–224; Hall 1974, p. 277. 5 RA, E I a: 280, Finansdep. Konseljakt, ärende nr. II, 1852–05–26, Katalog öfver framlidne Professor J. N. Byströms Tafvel-Samling, no. 127 “Drottning Catharina Cornaro på Cypern, emottagande bref från Senaten i Venedig, af Giorgione di Castelfranco, 2500 riksdaler banco”. 6 NM Archives, Kongl. Museum, G: 3, “Redogörelse för statsanslaget till Kongl. Museum, 1844–1854”; NM Archives, Kongl. Museum, D: 1, “Inventarier över Kongl. Museum, 1803–1857”. 7 Sander 1872‒76, IV, p. 112, no. 26. 8 Göthe 1910, p. 360. 9 Negro, Pirondini and Roio 2004, p. 57, no. 138. 10 Cittadella 1783, pp. 304–306; Lanzi 1816, p. 263; Baruffaldi 1846, p. 210. 11 It is possible that the painting goes back to an original by Giorgione. 12 Zampetti 1955, p. 260, no. 128. 13 NM Cat. 1990, p. 416. 14 Giuseppe Caletti, Mark the Evangelist, oil on canvas, 280 x 162, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Ferrara, inv. no. 206; Cittadella 1783, p. 315; Lanzi 1816, p. 264; Baruffaldi 1846, p. 214. 15 Negro, Pirondini and Roio 2004, p. 56–57. 16 Cittadella 1783, p. 304; Lanzi 1816, pp. 263–264; Baruffaldi 1846, p. 210. [End]
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