Pierre Ronche (active Rome, 17th century)

Pietro Banchieri was the son of Caterina Rospigliosi (1640-1703), and the nephew of Clemente IX. This portrait is one of a series of ten by Pierre Ronche that show the boy in various theatrical or carnival costumes: as Cupid, Pulcinella, a dancer, a Swiss guard, and also dressed as a girl and, in this instance, as a female sutler.

The young boy is wearing a gold-embroidered, pink silk doublet with ruff collar and cuffs, adorned with strings of pearls and red ribbons. The skirt is slightly raised to show off the foot wear, and a white fur headpiece frames his face. With the sutler’s keys dangling from his waist and his right hand holding an elaborate silver pitcher, he is offering wine and buttered bread to the viewer.

Following a taste for serial portraiture fashionable at the time, this series of portraits could have been dedicated to the theatre, as a sort of gallery of costumes. The family was notoriously passionate about theatre, owning scene costumes and holding performances at their palaces.