Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa
(Renaissance Europe )
The boy can be identified as the nine-year-old Massimiliano Stampa, third marquess of the small northern Italian city of Soncino, on the basis of a contemporary annotation on the back of the canvas. This is Sophonisba Anguissola's first major commission. The family commissioned it to commemorate the boy's inheritance of his title in 1557, at his father's death. Anguissola was a sympathetic observer of children: here she leavens the stern, very "adult," impression of the full-length portrait in the traditional black clothing of the Italian courts during the 16th century with the appeal of child's hesitant expression and the inclusion of the boy's sleeping pet.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Chantel Collection, Lyon [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Trotti, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown; Galerie Trotti & Cie ?, founded 1901)]; James Stillman, New York; C. C. Stillman, New York, prior to 1921, by descent; C. C. Stillman Sale, American Art Association Galleries, New York, February 3, 1927, no. 29 [as Portrait of a Young Prince of the Este Family, by G. B. Moroni]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2022 | By Her Hand: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500–1800. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit. |
| 2019-2020 | A Tale of Two Women Painters: Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana. Museo del Prado. |
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1995-1996 | Going for Baroque. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1994-1995 | Sofonisba Anguissola e le sue sorelle. Centro Culturale "Città di Cremona", Cremona; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington. |
| 1972 | Old Mistresses: Women Artists of the Past. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1923 | Renaissance Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 7/11/1939 | Treatment | stabilized |
| 12/19/1983 | Treatment | cleaned; stabilized; mounted; re-housed; coated; loss compensation |
| 6/1/1987 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated |
| 1/2/1995 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 7/12/2005 | Treatment | other |
| 1/1/2007 | Treatment | other |
| 5/1/2010 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
Italy, Cremona (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Painted surface H including painted extensions around all four sides: 53 1/8 × W: 28 × D: 1 in. (134.94 × 71.12 × 2.54 cm); Framed H: 67 × W: 41 × D: 3 1/4 in. (170.18 × 104.14 × 8.26 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1927
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.1016