| Artist Name |
Carlo Dolci (1616-1686) |
| Title |
Portrait of a Lady Holding a Statuette |
| Description |
This fantastic Italian Baroque 17th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Carlo Dolci. Painted circa 1685, the composition is a waist length portrait of a beautiful dark haired young woman in a blue silk dress. In one hand she is holding up a small statuette, the figure facing the artist/viewer, as if it is being displayed to us. Paintings, especially portraits, always tell a story. It is significant where the sitter chooses to be painted; indoors, in a library or in a landscape, how they are dressed which displays their wealth and status, and what they are holding - a book for a man of learning, paintbrush for an artist or aspiring one, quill for a writer etc. In this case our sitter is holding a small statuette of a man with arm raised and also holding something, a scroll perhaps. She is gazing admiringly at it, not looking at the artist/viewer. This would suggest that she is either a sculptor or a great admirer of sculptures or perhaps the particular individual the statuette is of. Whatever the background story, this is a charming painting with great subject matter and in deed a conversation piece. The details in the lady's face are beautiful and her dress still so vibrant a blue for a 17th century Old Master. This is a fantastic Italian Baroque oil painting, housed in a magnificent frame and would grace any wall. |
| Provenance |
Private estate. |
| Medium |
Oil on Canvas |
| Size |
18 x 24 inches |
| Frame |
Housed in a stunning Old Master gilt frame with scallop shell corners. Framed, 34 inches by 28 framed and in good condition. |
| Condition |
Good condition. |
| Biography |
Carlo (or Carlino) Dolci (25 May 1616 – 17 January 1686) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence, known for highly finished religious pictures, often repeated in many versions. He was born in Florence, on his mother's side the grandson of a painter. Although he was precocious and apprenticed at a young age to Jacopo Vignali, Dolci was not prolific. "He would take weeks over a single foot", according to his biographer Baldinucci. His painstaking technique made him unsuited for large-scale fresco painting. He painted chiefly sacred subjects, and his works are generally small in scale, although he made a few life-size pictures. He often repeated the same composition in several versions, and his daughter, Agnese Dolci, also made excellent copies of his works. Dolci was known for his piety. It is said that every year during Passion Week he painted a half-figure of the Savior wearing the Crown of Thorns. In 1682, when he saw Giordano, nicknamed "fa presto" (quick worker), paint more in five hours than he could have completed in months, he fell into a depression. Dolci's daughter, Agnese (died circa 1680), was also a painter. Dolci died in Florence in 1686. |
| Price |
£9000 |
