Details

Object type

painting

Title

Portrait of a Genoese Noblewoman

Artist/Maker

Anthony van Dyck maker

Place Associated

Italy, Genoa (place associated)

Date

1621-1627

Materials

oil on canvas

Dimensions

framed: 1582 mm x 1225 mm x 95 mm;unframed: 1370 mm x 1010 mm; weight (including frame): 30 kg

Description

The young woman in this portrait is an Italian noblewoman from the area of Genoa. Her brown hair is tied back and secured with a pearl-detailed hairpiece, finished with a plump, black ostrich feather. Curly tendrils frame her face romantically. She looks out with open eyes and a small smile, The artist capturing a friendly expression. A red flower is tucked behind her right ear. She wears a black and gold dress, in a Spanish style. The deep V-shape of her bodice is typical of Genoese fashions of the time, and is a little dated compared with other contemporary European fashions.

Anthony van Dyck spent six years living in Italy, where he established himself as a leading portraitist between 1621-1627. There, the coastal town of Genoa formed his base, from where he travelled to Rome and Sicily. In Genoa, he painted some of the city’s wealthiest and most powerful families.

This painting once hung in the Palazzo Lomellini, Genoa, owned by Agostino Lomellini (1909-1791), 166th Doge of Genoa, 1760-2. It was first recorded at the palace in 1766, and later in 1780, by the art biographer and painter, Carlo Giuseppe Ratti (1737–1795). The painting hung alongside the group portrait, ‘The Lomellini Family’, also by Van Dyck, (Scottish National Gallery). That painting shows the two eldest sons, and second wife of Giacomo Lomellini (1570-1652), with his two young children by her. By 1827, it seems that both the group portrait, and the portrait ‘Marchesa Lomellini’- as it was then known- were available for sale. By then, the Palazzo was being used as a banking building, and the two paintings hung in the office of the American Consul. The Scottish painter David Wilkie liaised with Andrew Wilson, a Scottish painter and dealer based in Rome, who bought ‘Marchesa Lomellini’ in 1828 on behalf of Sir Archibald Campbell of Succoth, 2nd Baronet (1769-1846).

In a 1864 inventory ‘Marchesa Lomellini’ was recorded in the dining room of Garscube House, Sir Campbell’s Estate, north-west Glasgow. In that inventory it was described as a ‘Lady of Lomellino Family’, continuing the traditionally-held identity of the sitter being a member of that wealthy, Genoese family. There is no strong evidence to connect it to a particular sitter, however, and it could quite as easily be a woman from one of the many wealthy Genoese families Van Dyck painted between 1621-27. The portrait was seen at Garscube in 1851 by the German art historian Dr Waagen. However, it did not feature again in a publication until 1942, when it was dated 1622-5 by K.E Maison (Burlington, vol. 80/81). This dating has been echoed in subsequent publications, including the 2004 catalogue raisonée of Van Dyck’s paintings (ed. S. Barnes), which dates the painting to around 1621 on account of the woman’s ‘open, warm facial expression’ and ‘loaded technique in the face, hands, and dress highlights’, as well as its similarity to works by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Van Dyck’s mentor who painted the noblewomen of Genoa almost 20 years before Van Dyck did.

Sir Archibald Campbell built an impressive collection of European paintings, with examples by Guido Reni, Annibale Caracci, and Jacob Jordaens. This collection put Campbell on par with Sir John Maxwell Macdonald and Archibald McLellan as one of the most important Scottish collectors of his time. Archibald Campbell’s collection passed through the Campbell family, who lived at Garscube Estate until 1939, when the building was used in the war effort. The family sold much of the collection in 1946, and the building was bought by the University of Glasgow, after failed negotiations with Glasgow City Council for it to house the Burrell Collection. The building was demolished in 1954. This painting is a reminder of a once-great collection, and a fine example of Van Dyck’s brilliant skill for more

Credit Line/Donor

From the collection of Sir Ilay and Lady Campbell, accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by HM Government, 2021

ID Number

3786

Location

Kelvingrove Looking at Art