Portrait of Abbondio Rezzonico

Abbondio Rezzonico (1741–1810) was a Roman senator and nephew of Pope Clement XIII (also named Carlo della Torre Rezzonico). Batoni's 1766 portrait at the Bassano Civic Museum captures the young Rezzonico at twenty-five, just as his uncle the pope was navigating the crisis of Jesuit suppression. A portrait by Batoni was the natural choice for a member of the pontifical family — Batoni had already painted Clement XIII himself and would continue to be the pope's family's preferred portraitist. Abbondio Rezzonico is also remembered as a patron of the arts in Rome who supported archaeological projects and whose collection contributed to Roman cultural life. The Bassano Civic Museum's possession of this portrait in the Veneto reflects the Rezzonico family's Venetian origins.

Oil on canvas with the full refinement of Batoni's mid-career portrait practice. A papal nephew would merit a substantial commission — likely three-quarter or full-length — with attention to Roman aristocratic dress and the accessories of cultured nobility. The face would be given the precise individual characterization that distinguished Batoni's portraits from those of his rivals.