Portrait of Maria Biraghi

Maria Biraghi was, for many years ruler with the lawyer Romolo Quaglino, who left her the usufructuary of the vast patrimony donated to the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan. In 1939 the woman reduced the amount destined to her maintenance in favor of the Hospital which, therefore, decided on September 29th to have her portrait executed. In the following October the painter Gianni Maimeri was charged with the execution of the portrait, on the explicit desire of the benefactor. The work, completed in August 1940, was approved by the Artistic Commission the following year.
The painting, executed from life, represents, with a solid and very nuanced painting in warm tones, the tiny figure of the benefactor in a living room of the Milanese house owned by her husband, where already the same Maimeri had set the portrait of Romulus Quaglino also executed for the Quadreria of the Hospital. The artist's interest focuses on the physiognomy of the woman, whose psychological characterization is effectively rendered.