Lot number 3480 - Auction 150
SELBSTPORTRAIT DER KÜNSTLERIN AN DER STAFFELEI MIT PINSEL / DIE ALLEGORIE DES MALENS

GINEVRA CANTOFOLI ("Previously attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi with expert opinion by John Gash, Prof. Roberta Lapucci and Stefano Causa") 1618 Bologna - 1672 ibid SELF-PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AT THE EASEL WITH BRUSH / THE ALLEGORY OF PAINTING Oil on canvas (relined). 92 x 68 cm (F. 116 x 93 cm). Part. old rest., part. old retouching (extensive restoration report included). Frame. This finely executed portrait shows a young woman in three-quarter profile, elegantly dressed in golden ochre robes with blue bows, adorned with pearls and a cross pendant. In her right hand she holds a brush, in her left a painter's palette - clear attributes of the personification of painting ('Pittura'). The self-confident posture, the direct gaze and the close cropping of the image bring the figure directly to the viewer. For decades, the painting was considered in several expert opinions to be the work of Artemisia Gentileschi herself. In particular, John Gash of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland clearly attributes the painting to Artemisia Gentileschi in an expert opinion dated 12 December 2003 (copy of expert opinion enclosed). The art historian Professor Roberta Lapucci came to the same conclusion in an expert opinion dated 14 December 2018, classifying the painting as "an original artwork by the artist Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654)" (copy of expert opinion enclosed). In a detailed expert opinion, Stefano Causa emphasises the painterly and iconographic similarity to Artemisia's well-known works, such as the Allegory of Painting in the National Gallery of Ancient Art in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome and the famous Self-Portrait as an Allegory of Painting, which is now in the collection of the English royal family. Causa dates the painting to the late 1630s. In contrast, Riccardo Lattuada, a renowned Gentileschi expert, expresses doubts about Artemisia Gentileschi's authorship. He argues for attribution to Ginevra Cantofoli from Bologna, a painter in the circle of Elisabetta Sirani. Typical of Ginevra Cantofoli is the softer, evenly pearly modelling of the flesh tones, the elegant, slender hand shapes, the decorative use of accessories and a smoother, more controlled painting style - characteristics that correspond more to the Bolognese idiom of the 1660s than to Gentileschi's more powerful, plastic style. The following is known about the provenance of the painting: The current owners acquired the painting through the mediation of the renowned art historian Dr Roberta Lapucci from Florence and Lady Carol Harvey from Prestbury, Malta. Federico Gandolfi was the owner of the painting. Federico's father, grandfather and great-grandfather were respected experts and collectors of Old Master paintings. Their home, a magnificent palazzo in the centre of Florence, houses a collection of paintings that few private or public museums can match. As Federico explained, this huge collection belonged to his great-grandfather, from whom he had inherited part of it. Most of the paintings had never been publicly exhibited or even catalogued, as it was a private collection. Federico said that the painting came from his great-grandfather's collection and had been hanging in the house for generations. It had never been exhibited.... After the painting was acquired, the owner commissioned Dr Roberta Lapucci to conduct research, cleaning and forensic analysis. The aim was to authenticate the painting... Dr Roberta Lapucci carried out this work over a period of 6 to 8 months. The results of her work are documented and available in the report prepared by Dr Roberta Lapucci. At a ceremony in Pisa, this report was presented to the public for the first time and the painting was officially recognised as a genuine self-portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi. Literature: As Artemisia Gentileschi: Expert opinion by Prof. Dr. Roberta Lapucci dated 14 December 2018. Expert opinion by John Gash dated 12 December 2003. Expert opinion by Stefano Causa, dating the painting as Gentileschi, around 1640. Expertise: Discussed and attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi in: Marras, Luciano and Emanuela Grifoni: Clio, La Musa della Storia di Artemisia Gentileschi. La Tecnica e il Costume. June 2013. Provenance: German private collection. Previously: Gandolfi / Frascioni family, Florence.