venetian art, 1600–1797 841
all worked in this same experimental setting thanks to the bequest of a
Venetian aristocrat who died in 1722.80
the grand style also persisted in the official portraits of Venetian doges,
procurators, admirals, or other dignitaries, for which painters such as
Bartolomeo nazari, Pietro Uberti, and alessandro Longhi are good repre-
sentatives.81 Often life-size, they impress at first sight for their rhetorical
qualities in their continuation of the baroque repertoire. We see this still
evidenced in the late example of alessandro Longhi’s portrait of admiral
antonio renier at the Musei Civici of Padua. the white of the long curly
wig contrasts with the red of the elegant and fashionable outfit, shoes
included. the heavy gold-colored cloak loosely draped over renier’s
shoulders, the stick of command, and the typical hat provide renier with
the dignity of his rank. all emphasis is placed on his status, including his
confident smile. Made in 1765, his pompous appearance comes across as
anachronistic and rather fits in the grand siècle of Louis XiV.
the representative portraits of state officials were not the models
that inspired rosalba Carriera. She supplemented the genre of portrai-
ture with a whole new flavor. in line, in color, and in brushstrokes, but
applied in the medium of the pastel, Carriera showed great affinity with
Pellegrini, her brother-in-law. She was the only female artist of Venice
who gained international fame with her pretty middle-sized crayons, and
she counted many rulers from northern european courts among her cli-
entele.82 numerous, chiefly British, foreigners of high social standing did
not neglect to swing by her bottega for an appointment, when in Venice.
Her chalky, powder box-like works almost reveal the intimate thoughts
and worries of the sitter. the first attempts at psychological enquiries,
employed previously in this genre by tiberio tinelli and later Sebastiano
Bombelli, obtained in her hands a completely new dimension. With no
trace of any sense of drama, she couples likeness and a soft sensuality to
informality and directness without leaving out a good deal of idealiza-
tion. a typical “female” approach, perhaps, but also much liked by her
80 Bequest of andrea Stazio, published by Lino Moretti, “La data degli apostoli di San
Stae,” Arte Veneta 27 (1973), 318–20.
81 Paolo Delorenzi, La galleria di Minerva: il ritratto di rappresentanza nella Venezia del
Settecento (Venice, 2009).
82 Bernardina Sani, Rosalba carriera: lettere, diari, frammenti (Florence, 1985); Sani,
Rosalba Carriera (Venice, 1988); exh. cat. (Venice, 2007), Rosalba Carriera “prima pittrice
de l’Europa”, ed. Giuseppe Pavanello (Venice, 2007); andreas Henning and Harald Marx,
“Das Kabinett der Rosalba”: Rosalba Carriera und die Pastelle der Dresdener Gemäldegalerie
Alte Meister (Berlin, 2007); and Pavanello, ed., Rosalba Carriera.