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Catalogue raisonné: Description in Italian Paintings: Three Centuries of Collecting, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2015, cat.no. 96: 

FORMER INV. NOS.: 313 (M. 1796–97); 46 (F. 1798); 470 (M. 1804);
KM 266.

TECHNICAL NOTES: The painting support is a medium-coarse,
densely woven, plain-weave linen fabric. It has been lined with
glue onto a thin, fine linen canvas and mounted on a non-original
stretcher. There are numerous old retouches. The varnish is heavily
yellowed. The painting is in fair condition.

PROVENANCE: Martelli 1804.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: NM Cat. 1867, p. 13 (as Trevisani); Sander 1872–
76, III, p. 137, no. 470 (Trevisani, attributed to); Göthe 1887, p. 264
(as Trevisani, attributed to); NM Cat. 1958, p. 202 (as Trevisani); NM
Cat. 1990, p. 359 (Trevisani, copy).

Among the portraits that Francesco Trevisani
painted of his Roman patron Pietro Ottoboni,
the present painting is a type that combines two
previously established formulas.¹ The hairstyle
and the modelling of the facial features show
the cardinal in middle age, referring to the type
represented in an engraving by Jacob Frey. The
pose with the letter, however, refers to the wellknown
portrait of the younger cardinal (Bowes
Museum, Bernard Castle, c. 1698). The present
painting, which has been trimmed and does not
retain its original format, presents very different
stylistic features. The face of the sitter is fairly
well executed, but the robe, the visible hand and
the letter are of rather poorer quality. Although
Trevisani’s authorship cannot be entirely excluded,
the conservation history of the painting and
its subsequent damage make a proper attribution
difficult. As Karin Wolfe has pointed out, the
artist’s biographer Lione Pascoli stressed the difficulty
Trevisani’s pupils had copying his idiom.²
This meant a considerable amount of work for the
artist, who needed to execute numerous replicas
of sought-after paintings, such as portraits
of cardinals. Wolfe stresses that Trevisani was
indeed assisted in the layout of his compositions,
but that he surely retouched when needed.³ As
for NM 194, the imbalance in quality between
the different parts of the composition could be
explained by what has been stated above. If Trevisani
outlined the facial features of his cardinal
protector, it is plausible that assistants executed
the rest of the portrait.

After the death of Trevisani’s first Roman patron,
Cardinal Flavio Chigi (1631‒1693), the artist
entered Ottoboni’s service and, around 1698, set
up his studio in the Palazzo della Cancelleria,
the cardinal’s residence.⁴ The collaboration that
ensued was prolific and included different forms
of artistic expression. In 1712, Trevisani entered
the literary Arcadian Academy, to which several
of Ottoboni’s courtiers belonged. His theatrical
improvisations were much esteemed by his contemporaries.
⁵ The Arcadian Academy was a link
to Nicola Martelli, who was himself a member. It
is plausible that the portraits of the two literary
cardinals Imperiali (NM 165, cat. no. 49) and
Ottoboni (NM 194, cat. no. 96) were important
pieces in his collection, since they reinforced his
link with this prestigious Roman institution,
founded by Queen Christina of Sweden.
sne

1 Petrucci 2010, pp. 356–357 and 908–911.
2 Wolfe 2011, p. 83.
3 Ibid.
4 Olszewski 2004, p. 21.
5 Ibid., p. 23. [End]

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Explore the artists and artworks of Nationalmuseum Sweden.

Kardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740) | Nationalmuseum

Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni | Nationalmuseum

Foto: Erik Cornelius / Nationalmuseum 2012