Queen Maria Antonia, Queen of Sardinia (1729-1785)
after Domenico Duprà (Turin 1689 - 1770)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1755 - circa 1758
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
737 x 610 mm (29 x 24 in)
Place of origin
Italy
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 851712
Caption
The Infanta Maria Antonia was the daughter of Philip V of Spain, and married Vittorio Amedeo III, later King Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, in 1750. The friendship with the Hervey family (of Ickworth), evidently initiated by George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1721-1775) when Envoy in Turin, 1755-58, was continued by her eldest son, later to rule as Charles Emmanuel IV. The portrait is painted in a ponderously careful manner and must be by a copyist. Duprà’s style, to judge by the painting belonging to the Duke of Hamilton, was smooth and highly finished. It seems likely that the original portrait of Victor Amadeus belongs to about the time of his marriage in 1750, when Duprà is known to be at the court at Turin. This painting was almost certainly acquired by George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1721-1775) when envoy at Turin, 1755-58.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Queen Maria Antonia, Queen of Sardinia (1729-1785), after Domenico Duprà (Turin 1689 – 1770), circa 1755-1758 (after original by Clementi of circa 1750) A half-length portrait of a young woman, turnd to the left, gazing at the spectator, wearing a red cape lined with white fur over whitish/grey lace dress, with diamond parure and brown fur around the neck. Her left hand held across her breast, resting on a drop pearl pendant brooch; grey, powdered, hair; her right hand round a small grey dog with clipped ears, which sits beside her on the left on a blue cushion. Mid-brown background.
Provenance
Almost certainly acquired by George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1721-1775) when Envoy at Turin, 1755-58, and, possibly with NT 851713 and ICK/P/166 especially copied for him; thence by inheritance and descent until the death of Frederick, 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951), when valued for probate; accepted, with the house and part of the estate, by HM Treasury in lieu of death duties in 1956, and transferred to the National Trust.
Credit line
Ickworth, The Bristol Collection (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1956)
Makers and roles
after Domenico Duprà (Turin 1689 - 1770) , artist Maria Giovanna Clementi (1690 - 1761), artist
References
Farrer 1908 Edmund Farrer, Portraits in Suffolk Houses (West), 1908, no. 171, p.230