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a painting of a man in a brown coat with a red scarfa painting of a man in a brown coat holding a red clotha close up of an old wooden window with a wooden frame
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ALEXANDRE LANDRE - SEMUR-EN-AUXOIS

60 - Jacopo AMIGONI (1682–1752)
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Estimate €40,000 - €60,000
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Description
Jacopo AMIGONI (1682–1752) Portrait of Nicola Porpora (1686–1768), composer. Oil on canvas. H_80 cm W_64.5 cm Nicola Porpora was one of the most renowned composers of his time. A teacher and friend of the famous castrato Farinelli, he also trained Joseph Haydn. It is known that these three great figures of the Italian Baroque travelled to European courts at roughly the same time. In France, the influence of French portrait painters on Amigoni, notably that of Nicolas de Largillierre (1646–1756), is evident and is particularly apparent in this work.Jacopo Amigoni is one of the great masters of 18th-century Venetian Baroque. An accomplished painter, he travelled through the courts of Europe, where he absorbed the various styles he encountered. Renowned for the quality of his portraits, he produced numerous ones of his friend Farinelli. We know that Amigoni accompanied the great Castra on his journey to Versailles in 1736, where he gave a successful concert. At that time, the composer—a friend of both artists—was working in London and, incidentally, produced a portrait featuring the same composition as our painting. This painting illustrates the link between the Parisian influence on the artist and the portraits from this period, and was sold at Sotheby’s on 3 July 1996, lot 141, in London. It was examined by Dr Annalisa Scarpa Sonino, a specialist in the painter’s work (who has since passed away), for whom the French influence on the composition was beyond doubt, thus enabling it to be dated to the time of the 1736 trip to Versailles. Whilst this portrait was originally regarded as that of an anonymous subject, it is now clear that it actually depicts Farinelli wearing a wig in the French style. Our painting therefore adopts a similar composition but with Porpora’s features. Amigoni thus depicts his two friends with similar features, reinforcing the close bond between these three major Baroque artists. A true rediscovery, this portrait serves as a bridge between the arts and further illustrates the closeness between music and painting. Related works: - Sotheby’s London auction, 3 July 1996, lot no. 141, 81.5 cm x 65.5 cm - Chaucer Fine Arts, 1991, Portrait of a gentleman, oil on paper, 40 cm x 31.5 cm - Portrait of Amigoni from the exhibition ‘Italian Paintings and Northern Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection’, Atlanta, 1958 - Jacopo Amigoni, Portrait of a Man in a Red Cloak, Donetsk Regional Art Museum, 82.5 cm × 64.6 cm, transferred to the Pushkin Museum. - - Jacopo Amigoni, Portrait of Sigismund Streit, 1739, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin - Anonymous, Portrait of Nicola Antonio Porpora, International Museum and Library of Music, Bologna Expert: Artéon consultancy - Expert: Artéon consultancy
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About the sale Collection of the Château de Villebourgeon & others
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Auction time 10/04/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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