Presumed Portrait of the Marchesa Caterina Gabrielli as Diana

This 1751 portrait, described as 'Presumed' portrait of the Marchesa Caterina Gabrielli as Diana, demonstrates the characteristic uncertainty that surrounds many Batoni sitter identifications. The work is now at the National Gallery of Ireland. Caterina Gabrielli was a famous Italian soprano of the mid-eighteenth century, and if the identification holds, this would be an unusual portrait of a performer rather than an aristocrat or clergyman. The qualifier 'presumed' suggests the identification rests on visual resemblance to other documented likenesses rather than contemporary documentation. The Diana format — regardless of the sitter's identity — is entirely consistent with Batoni's 1751 Roman production, when he was painting multiple mythological female portraits for visiting clients.

Oil on canvas in Batoni's 1751 Diana portrait formula: crescent moon, hunting dress, forest setting. If the sitter is indeed Gabrielli, the portrait's date precedes her greatest fame by a decade, potentially capturing a young soprano in the guise of a goddess. The face modelling would be Batoni's standard luminous treatment regardless of the sitter's professional identity.