La Libertà
Stefano Torelli (Bologna 1712 - St Petersburg 1784)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1759
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
410 x 290 mm
Place of origin
Venice
Order this imageCollection
Hinton Ampner, Hampshire
NT 1530119
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, La Libertà, Stefano Torelli (Bologna 1712 – St Petersburg 1784), c.1759. A full-length female figure of a crowned woman, in classical drapery, centre, her right hand holding a sceptre, her left hand resting on her chin, her elbow resting on a sculpted monument. Two men in armour stand to the right, one holding a staff surmounted by the two-headed Roman eagle. At her feet, to left, are two winged cupids, the one to the right holding a bow or broken yoke, the one to the left holding a shield inscribed: LIBERT[AS] /AUGUST [AE?]. Torelli painted a large version of this composition for the audince chamber of Lübeck town hall, where it forms one of a series of ten. This painting appears to be a study for that commission.
Provenance
H.D. Lyon; bought by Ralph Sutton from Christie's, 6 November 1964, lot 184 as An Allegory of Freedom by Francesco Zugno for £136.10s
Credit line
Hinton Ampner, The Ralph Dutton Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
On stretcher: '484 NT' stencilled in black On stretcher: 'J.B. Tieplo' in black ink On stretcher: 'Nov.6.64' and '184' writtent in white chalk
Makers and roles
Stefano Torelli (Bologna 1712 - St Petersburg 1784), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Gaspare Diziani (Belluno 1689 - Venice 1767), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Francesco Zugno (Venice 1709 - Venice 1787) , artist previously catalogued as attributed to Antonio Diziani (1737 - 1797), artist
References
Graziani 2013 Irene Graziani, Sognare l'Arcadia: Stefano Torelli "peintre enchanteur" nelle grandi corti del Nord Europa, Bolgona, 2013, p. 147