The ''Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria'' is an oil-on-canvas painting by Flemish artist Sir

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

, dating to 1606. It is now in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. It was commissioned by Marchese Giacomo Massimiliano Doria of Genoa and shows his wife (and cousin) shortly after their wedding in 1605; she came from the equally prominent

Spinola family The House of Spinola, or Spinola family, was a leading Italian political family centered in the Republic of Genoa. Their influence was at its greatest extent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Important members Guido Spinola was one o ...

. He died in 1613 and she remarried another Doria. It has been trimmed several times on each side, removing the garden shown in the background and the lower part of the figure.

Description

The overall physical dimensions of the painting are now after the original was reduced in size during the 19th century. Rubens completed a pen and brown ink study for the painting, which is held in the

Morgan Library & Museum The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th S ...

in New York, enabling identification of sections eliminated. Details removed include the bottom of the Marchesa's floor-length wedding gown as the painting has been cut just below her knees and the architecture that formed the backdrop. Writing in ''

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...

'' in 1951, Christopher Norris indicated the sketch portrayed a woman older than the 22-year-old Marchesa. In the painting the Marchesa is placed in an opulent setting to convey luxury; adorned with jewels, she wears a satin and lace dress, with a broad

ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...

round her neck. Light is used to emphasise the draping of her bulky wedding gown, while she looks down on the viewer, establishing the necessity to hang the finished portrait above the height of viewers.

Provenance and exhibitions

Marquess Giacomo Massimiliano Doria commissioned the portrait of his bride – they married on 9 July 1605 – and the painting remained in his ownership until his death in 1613 when it passed to his brother,

Giovanni Carlo Doria Giovanni Carlo Doria (1576–1625) (also Gio, Gian, or Giovan) was a Genoese art collector and mecenas. A son of Agostino Doria, doge of Genoa in 1601-1603, he was a prominent member of one of the richest and most influential families of the ...

(1576–1625). It subsequently became the property of Marchessa Brigida Spinola-Doria's second husband, probably in 1625, passing back to the Marchesa until her death in 1661. It remained in the family until given to relatives of Rati Opizzone. By 1848 it was held in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

by Simon Horsín-Déon. Four years later, in 1854, the portrait was in London and sold several times before being purchased by the

Samuel H. Kress Samuel Henry Kress (July 23, 1863 – September 22, 1955) was a businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. variety store, five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collection ...

foundation in 1957 who donated it to the

in 1961. First exhibited in 1952 at the

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

when it was likely in the ownership of the

Duveen Brothers Henry Joseph Duveen (26 October 1854Bierman, Stanley M. ''The World's Greatest Stamp Collectors''. New York: Frederick Fell Publishers Inc., 1981, p. 90. – 15 January 1919) was an art dealer who co-founded the firm of Duveen Brothers with his ...

, it was also displayed at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in 1953. Since 1961 it has regularly been featured in exhibitions.

References

Citations Bibliography * *

External links

{{Authority control

Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria The ''Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria'' is an oil-on-canvas painting by Flemish artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens, dating to 1606. It is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. It was ...

Marchesa Spinola-Doria 1606 paintings Marchesa Spinola-Doria Marchesa Spinola-Doria Collections of the National Gallery of Art