Portrait of a Lady known as Smeralda Bandinelli
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Smeralda Brandini is a tempera on panel painting by the Italian
Renaissance
artist Sandro Botticelli
of about 1475, in the Victoria and Albert Museum
, London
(museum no. CAI.100).
On the evidence of the inscription, the portrait may be of Esmeralda (Smeralda) Donati Brandini, the wife of Viviano Brandini, mother of the prominent Florentine goldsmith
Michelangelo de Viviano de Brandini of Gaiuole, and grandmother of the sculptor Baccio Bandinelli (the son of Michelangelo and his noble wife Catarina, a daughter of Taddeo Ugolino). From archive documents it is known that in 1469 Smeralda was 30; her husband Viviano 38; their children Michelangelo 12, Giovanbatista 2, and Lucrezia 10.
It has been suggested that the portrait was painted by one of Botticelli's assistants during the 1470s. William Michael Rossetti
said: "Leading critics will now have it that the portrait is not the work of Botticelli himself, but of someone for whom they have invented the name 'Amico di Sandro'". The V&A, however, still attributes the painting to Botticelli himself. It was once suspected that the portrait was one of Ignazio Hugford II's forgeries.
The art historian Julia Cartwright (1851–1924) refers to the sitter as the wife of Michele Bandinelli of Gaiuole, and attributes the portrait to an assistant of Botticelli. Although she names Smerelda and says that Michele was a talented goldsmith who had the Medici as clients for many years, is likely that Cartwright has confused Viviano with his son Michelangelo (Michele) because in 1475, the year of the tournament of La Giostra to which she refers, Michele was only 18 years old and his father was much better known.
The painting helped art historians to identify the sheer overdress worn by the Mona Lisa
, a "similar" guarnello. The sitter also wears a cotta, a light summer gown. The location is unknown: maybe it is a loggia
, or open-air colonnade.
in 1865. Charles Augustus Howell
bought it on behalf of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
in 1867 at Christie's
; Rossetti boasted that he had it for £20. It was bequeathed to the V&A with the collection of his patron Constantine Alexander Ionides
, who had bought it from Rossetti for £315 in the 1880s.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti refers to the painting in his comments on his poem "For Spring, by Sandro Botticelli":
What masque of what old wind-withered New-Year
Honours this Lady?* Flora, wanton-eyed
For birth, and with all flowrets prankt and pied
with his reference: * The same Lady, here surrounded by the masque of Spring, is evidently the subject of a portrait by Botticelli formerly in the Pourtales collection in Paris. This portrait is inscribed "Smeralda Bandinelli". Rossetti's suggestion that the portrait depicted the model Botticelli used for his Spring
now seems unlikely.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
artist Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
of about 1475, in the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(museum no. CAI.100).
Sitter and author
The identification of the sitter is based on the old, but probably not original, inscription on the windowsill at the bottom of the picture Smeralda di M.Bandinelli Moglie di VI... Bandinelli, who has been identified as the grandmother of the sculptor Baccio Bandinelli. It is likely that the inscription was added at a later date, as the sculptor only took that surname in 1530.On the evidence of the inscription, the portrait may be of Esmeralda (Smeralda) Donati Brandini, the wife of Viviano Brandini, mother of the prominent Florentine goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
Michelangelo de Viviano de Brandini of Gaiuole, and grandmother of the sculptor Baccio Bandinelli (the son of Michelangelo and his noble wife Catarina, a daughter of Taddeo Ugolino). From archive documents it is known that in 1469 Smeralda was 30; her husband Viviano 38; their children Michelangelo 12, Giovanbatista 2, and Lucrezia 10.
It has been suggested that the portrait was painted by one of Botticelli's assistants during the 1470s. William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti was an English writer and critic.-Biography:Born in London, he was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and the brother of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Georgina Rossetti.He was one of the seven founder members of the...
said: "Leading critics will now have it that the portrait is not the work of Botticelli himself, but of someone for whom they have invented the name 'Amico di Sandro'". The V&A, however, still attributes the painting to Botticelli himself. It was once suspected that the portrait was one of Ignazio Hugford II's forgeries.
The art historian Julia Cartwright (1851–1924) refers to the sitter as the wife of Michele Bandinelli of Gaiuole, and attributes the portrait to an assistant of Botticelli. Although she names Smerelda and says that Michele was a talented goldsmith who had the Medici as clients for many years, is likely that Cartwright has confused Viviano with his son Michelangelo (Michele) because in 1475, the year of the tournament of La Giostra to which she refers, Michele was only 18 years old and his father was much better known.
Composition
Art historians note new features in the composition: "earlier Florentine portraits were in profile. The woman's three-quarter pose, with her hand on the window frame, was Botticelli's own invention". The portrait is thought to be the first example of a three-quarters pose in Florentine portrait painting. "By abandoning the profile pose traditionally used in depictions of Renaissance women, Botticelli brought a new sense of movement into the portrait." The innovation was adopted by later artists.The painting helped art historians to identify the sheer overdress worn by the Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
, a "similar" guarnello. The sitter also wears a cotta, a light summer gown. The location is unknown: maybe it is a loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
, or open-air colonnade.
Provenance
By the early 19th century (1805) the portrait was in the collection of comte James de Pourtalès Gorgier (1776–1855) in Paris. A catalogue of public sales printed in France in 1866 records the sale of the picture by the comte de Pourtalès Gorgier for 3,400 francsFrench franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
in 1865. Charles Augustus Howell
Charles Augustus Howell
Charles Augustus Howell was an art dealer and alleged blackmailer who is best known for persuading the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti to dig up the poems he buried with his wife Elizabeth Siddal...
bought it on behalf of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
in 1867 at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
; Rossetti boasted that he had it for £20. It was bequeathed to the V&A with the collection of his patron Constantine Alexander Ionides
Constantine Alexander Ionides
Constantine Alexander Ionides was a major 19th century British art patron and collector of Greek ancestry, the son of the collector Alexander Constantine Ionides. He is best known for his bequest of 82 oil paintings to the Victoria and Albert Museum. He is buried in Hove.-External links:...
, who had bought it from Rossetti for £315 in the 1880s.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti refers to the painting in his comments on his poem "For Spring, by Sandro Botticelli":
What masque of what old wind-withered New-Year
Honours this Lady?* Flora, wanton-eyed
For birth, and with all flowrets prankt and pied
with his reference: * The same Lady, here surrounded by the masque of Spring, is evidently the subject of a portrait by Botticelli formerly in the Pourtales collection in Paris. This portrait is inscribed "Smeralda Bandinelli". Rossetti's suggestion that the portrait depicted the model Botticelli used for his Spring
Primavera (painting)
Primavera, also known as Allegory of Spring, is a tempera panel painting by Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Painted ca. 1482, the painting is described in Culture & Values as "[o]ne of the most popular paintings in Western art"...
now seems unlikely.
Articles
- Gail S. Weinberg. D.G. Rossetti's ownership of Botticelli's 'Smeralda Brandini in The Burlington Magazine, January 2004