Bonhams 1793 : Pier Francesco Cittadini (Milan 1616-1681 Bologna) Portrait of a lady, full-length, in a black dress with a gold chain and brooch,

Portrait of a lady, full-length, in a black dress with a gold chain and brooch, a white handkerchief in her left hand, standing beside a lap dog and a sliver-bound prayer book on a table draped with a red cloth
bears inscription 'LIVIA ARCIMOLDI F. GUIDONIS PATRY MEDIOLANENSIS./UXOR IO. ALOYSY DE MUGIASCA F. NICOLAI ANNO 1564' (upper edge)
oil on canvas
196 x 108cm (77 3/16 x 42 1/2in).

Sold for £15,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

PROVENANCE:
A noble villa in Lombardy, from which acquired at the end of the 19th century by an old Milanese family and thence by descent to the present owner

Cittadini's style displays a number of influences from having worked in diverse regions of Italy during the course of his career. After initially studying under Daniele Crespi in Milan, he entered the Bolognese workshop of Guido Reni, who exerted a strong impact on him and Cittadini fast became established in that city. In the mid-1640s he then made a journey to Rome, which transformed both the subject-matter of his art and his technique. He appears to have been influenced there by the Venetian traits of Pietro Testa and Pier Francesco Mola in particular. After returning to Bologna in 1650 he won considerable acclaim for his still lifes and portraits, in which he united realism and classicism and which have been admired for their warm and direct naturalism.

Category: Fine Art / Old Master Paintings

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