German Roman

Description:

19th ct.
44 x 34 cm
Portrait of an Italian in profile to the right (Giacomo Orlandi di Subiaco). Oil/canvas, relined.
Wurttemberg private collection. A watercolour version of the portrait presented here was offered for sale in Dallas in 2011, attributed to Friedrich von Amerling. Giacomo Orlandi, whose identity is known thanks to the inscription on a drawing by Johannes Niessen (1821-1910), was an extremely sought-after model among foreign artists in Rome between 1840 and 1860, including Jean-Léon Gérome, Joseph-Désiré Court, Anselm Feuerbach and Edgar Degas. Comparably popular female models were Vittoria Caldoni, of whom over a hundred depictions have been preserved, and later Rosina Ferrara on Capri, who was portrayed by Alfred Stevens and John Singer Sargent, among others.