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Res. 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]

Foto: Erik Cornelius / Nationalmuseum 2012

Titel (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