Pompeo Batoni
, Italian, 1708-1787
Title
Presumed Portrait of the Marchesa Caterina Gabrielli as DianaDate1751
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
47 x 36 cm
Signedlower right: P.B.1751
Credit LineMilltown Gift, 1902
Object numberNGI.703
DescriptionBatoni was without doubt the most famous painter in Rome in the second half of the 18th century. His ability as a portraitist attracted innumerable clients to his studio, most of them foreigners who wanted to have their images immortalised during their stay in the Eternal City. Many qualities distinguished his portraits, but perhaps what most fascinated his contemporaries was his facility in obtaining his sitter’s likeness with informal, elegant poses, using a range of moderately bright colours and polished contour lines.We have reason to believe that the young woman portrayed here is the Marchesa Caterina Gabrielli. She was among the best-known social hostesses of the Roman aristocracy, and was widely considered one of the beauties of her time. Here the painter offers a lyrical image of the lady; she is dressed as the huntress goddess Diana, with two greyhounds resting beside her. This poetic interpretation was probably influenced by the intellectual activities of the local Arcadian circles.
(National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide, 2008)
ProvenanceCommissioned from the artist by Joseph Leeson, subsequently 1st Earl of Milltown; by descent in the family of the sitter at Russborough, County Wicklow, Ireland; Milltown Collection; Milltown Gift, 1902. Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964