Rosalba Carriera (Venice 1675-1757)

This pastel was part of the royal collections in Dresden until 1924 when it was returned to the Wettin family collection as part of the treaty between the state of Saxony and the Albertin branch of the Wettin family. It has retained its original frame by Joseph Deibel (1716-1793), who became Court sculptor in 1752 and who supplied frames for the Gemaldegalerie, Dresden. In her 2007 catalogue raisonné on the artist, Bernardina Sani compares the pastel to the portrait of a man in the National Gallery, London (ibid., no. 165, ill.) and to another portrait of a man in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice (op. cit., no. 224, ill.), both sitters looking over their shoulders. The present work is a characteristic and accomplished example of Rosalba's art; it shows her flair for capturing a sitter's character as well as her outstanding ability to render different textures, particularly noticeable in the delicate lace and embroidery of the clothes.