Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
The Betrothal of Raphael and the Niece of Cardinal Bibbiena
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Although he trained in the studio of the celebrated Neoclassical history painter Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Ingres defies easy classification. This intimate painting reflects Ingres's Romantic fascination with the lives of artists of the past whom he admired-in this case, Raphael.
In this scene, Cardinal Bibbiena presents his niece as a bride for Raphael, a demonstration of the extraordinary esteem the cardinal felt for the handsome young artist. Ingres was careful to use historical sources in his imaginative depiction of this pivotal moment. Raphael's features are based on a portrait of a young man that was once thought to be a self-portrait (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.); Bibbiena's likeness is based on a portrait by Raphael (Pitti Palace, Florence); and the cardinal's niece was inspired by Sebastiano del Piombo's image of a woman once identified as Raphael's mistress, called "La Fornarina" (also in the Pitti Palace).
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.
Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, 1813, by commission; Duke of Salerno [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Prince of Salerno Sale, Naples, April 19, 1852, no. 118; Collection Giuseppe Tibaldi, Naples [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Ch. Blanc Sale, Paris, March 13-15, 1882, no. 33; Collection L. Tabourier [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Mrs. S. D. Warren, Boston [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Mrs. S. D. Warren Sale, American Art Association, New York, January 8-9, 1903, no. 52; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1903, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2009-2010 | De la scène au tableau. Musee Cantini, Marseille; Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto (TN); Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. |
| 2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
| 2000-2002 | Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. |
| 1996 | Millet and Barbizon Art. Matsumoto City Museum, Matsumoto City; Tokuyama City Museum of Art and History, Tokuyama; Kasama Nichido Museum, Kasama City; Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa. |
| 1983-1984 | Raphael et l'Art Francais. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris. |
| 1984 | Raffaello: elementi di un mito. Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence. |
| 1983 | Raphael and America. National Gallery of Art, Washington. |
| 1968 | From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
| 1967 | Ingres et son Temps. Musee Ingres a Montauban, Montauban. |
| 1961 | Ingres in American Collections. Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, New York. |
| 1951 | From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
| 2025 | French Master Paintings from Baltimore. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2001-0. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 5/1/1943 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated; other |
| 7/23/1951 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 3/16/1961 | Treatment | examined for loan; cleaned; coated |
| 3/16/1961 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 5/31/1967 | Treatment | examined for condition; coated |
| 2/1/1979 | Treatment | examined for condition; other |
| 10/16/1980 | Treatment | examined for exhibition |
| 10/20/1980 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; coated |
| 11/4/1981 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 1/11/1982 | Examination | examined for condition. |
| 10/12/1982 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 11/1/1984 | Treatment | coated; other |
| 6/13/1989 | Examination | examined for loan |
| 6/15/1989 | Technical Report | examined for technical study |
| 7/1/1989 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated; examined for technical study |
| 3/19/1999 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 23 1/4 x W: 18 5/16 in. (59.1 x 46.5 cm); Framed H: 36 3/4 x W: 31 1/2 x D: 5 in. (93.3 x 80 x 12.7 cm); Framed H with build-up: 36 3/4 x W: 31 5/8 x D: 5 3/4 in. (93.35 x 80.33 x 14.61 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1903
Location in Museum
Not on view
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.
37.13