Emilia di Spilimbergo
Titian·c. 1560
Historical Context
This portrait of Emilia di Spilimbergo was painted around 1560 by an assistant of Titian, possibly begun by Gian Paolo Pace. Emilia was a noblewoman from Friuli who was celebrated for her beauty and accomplishments — she studied painting under Titian himself and was mourned in verse by Torquato Tasso and other poets after her early death at nineteen in 1559. The portrait serves as a memorial to this gifted young woman.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas follows Titian's portrait conventions with warm Venetian coloring and soft modeling of the face. The execution suggests the hand of a capable assistant working within Titian's established portrait formula, with smooth flesh tones and careful rendering of the costume.
Provenance
Commissioned by the Spilimbergo family, Spilimbergo, Italy; by inheritance to Count Giulio di Spilimbergo, Domanins, by 1819;[1] by inheritance to Count Niccolò d'Attimis Maniago, Florence, by 1904;[2] and Count Enrico d'Attimis Maniago, Florence until 1909; Elia Volpi [1858-1938], Florence; sold 1909 to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); sold October 1909 to Peter A.B. Widener [1834-1915], Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[3] Inheritance from the Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park. [1] Fabio di Maniago, _Storia delle belle arti friulane_, Udine, 1819: 201. [2] Recorded in his possession by Oskar Fischel, _Tizian: Des Meisters Gemälde_, Stuttgart [u.a.], 1904: 195. [3] Corrado Ricci, “Ritratti ‘tizianeschi’ di Gian Paolo Pace,” _Rivista del R. Istituto d’Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte_ 7 (1929): 257-258. The 1909 Duveen Brothers stock book for their New York office records this painting and NGA 1942.9.83 as "bt. Count Maniago, Florence." See Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Series I.A. New York House, 1886-1960; sales, 1901-1910, p. 62, reel 4, box 5; stock book, 1909, p. 76, reel 5, box 6; copies in NGA curatorial files.
