Portrait of Countess Teresa Dudley di Carpegna

Description Theresa Dudley (1624-98) was the daughter of Sir Robert Dudley, an English aristocrat who was in the service of Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici in Florence. In 1649, she married Count Mario di Carpegna, high steward to Cardinal Carlo de' Medici. The companion portrait of her husband remains in the family's possession. Many Italian artists thought that portraits made from life were not challenging, and, therefore, several Flemish portraitists were able to make prosperous careers serving the aristocracy of Italy, in Sustermans's case, the Medici rulers of Florence and their circle. The artist's brushwork brings out the delicacy of the countess's skin, set off by frothy sleeves. The dress, jewelry, and pose are simplified versions of an earlier portrait by Sustermans of the grand duchess, wife of Cosimo II. In this way, the countess paid a complement to her social superior.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
12/31/1969	Treatment	surface cleaned; varnish removed or reduced
6/12/1952	Treatment	coated; filled; inpainted; varnish removed or reduced
9/17/1980	Examination	examined for condition
9/17/1980	Treatment	coated; filled; infrared spectroscopy; inpainted; lined; other; re-housed; surface cleaned; varnish removed or reduced

Exhibitions

• New Light on Old Pictures: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Walters. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1981-1982.

Provenance Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902