Rosalba Carriera: 6 works

'Rosalba Carriera was one of the most important female artists of the eighteenth century: after specialis-ing in miniatures on ivory, she turned mainly to pastels and met with such success throughout Europe that she was called to Paris, Vienna, and Dresden. Her studio in Venice became an essential place to visit for important personalities, including this aristocratic German man of the church, who had his por-trait made in 1727 while on his way to Rome to be appointed Bishop of Viterbo by the Pope.'

'This delicate head crowned by soft curls and an ivy wreath was one of many idealized images Carriera made called teste di fantasia --a kind of fanciful rendering of a beautiful woman with a mythological or allegorical appearance. Celebrated throughout Europe for her mastery of pastel, Carriera likely created this image for Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland.'

'Rosalba Carriera's hand is evident both in the painting's stylistic characteristics, which are consistent with those of this Venetian painter's oeuvre, and in the gracefulness and elegance with which the figures are presented.'

'Venetian-born Rosalba Carriera popularized pastel as a medium for serious artwork rather than mere sketches.'

'This painting belongs to the artistic maturity of Rosalba Carriera. She was a Venetian painter who first worked as a miniaturist and then, after a stay in Paris in about 1720, became famous as a portrait painter.'

'Her meticulous attention to detail is evident in passages such as the strands of chestnut hair emerging from underneath Sir James's powdered wig.'