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Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra

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Portrait of Marchesa Maria Serra Pallavicino
Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra
Year1606
Mediumoil paint, canvas
Dimensions233.7 cm (92.0 in) × 144.8, 140 cm (57.0, 55.1 in)
LocationKingston Lacy
CollectionNational Trust Edit this on Wikidata
Accession No.1257098 Edit this on Wikidata
IdentifiersArt UK artwork ID: marchesa-maria-serra-pallavicino-100457

Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra Pallavicino is a 1606 oil-on-canvas painting by Peter Paul Rubens, produced early in his time in Genoa. It was painted on the occasion of Maria di Antonio Serra's marriage to Niccolò Pallavicini, a member of the Pallavicini family and a banker who also hosted Vincenzo I Gonzaga of Mantua, Rubens' then employer. The painting is now part of the National Trust collection at Kingston Lacy.[1]

History

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Despite heraldic details on the curtain at the top left, the sitter’s identity had already been lost by the time the painting was first recorded in the written record, in Ratti’s 1780 guide to Genoa. Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra Pallavicino and Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant — the latter traditionally identified as depicting Marchesa Maria Grimaldi — were later acquired by the Grimaldi family, who misidentified the former as Marchesa Isabella Grimaldi.[1] Both works were acquired in Genoa in 1840 by William John Bankes and are now held in the National Trust collection at Kingston Lacy.[2]

Given the strong resemblance between the sitters in the two paintings and their close chronological proximity, it has been suggested that the Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant might also represent Maria Serra Pallavicini.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Catalogue entry".
  2. ^ "Catalogue entry".