Rosalba Carriera (1673 – 1757), Follower of - Ritratto della cantante Faustina Bordoni con uno spartito

Follower of ROSALBA CARRIERA
(Venice, 1673 – 1757)
Portrait of the singer Faustina Bordoni with a sheet music
Pastel on paper, 42 x 32 cm
Frame size, 47 x 37 x 3 cm (approx.)

NOTE: Publication catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection (pdf). Unsigned work. Certificate of Guarantee and Legitimate Provenance. Work with a contemporaneous dark-modan frame and glass. Work without a frame:

The small and refined sheet – pastel on paper, applied to a canvas/support panel – depicts the famous Portrait of the singer Faustina Bordoni with a sheet music.
The work, in fact, offers a refined half-bust likeness of Faustina Bordoni (1697–1781), a famous Venetian opera singer (mezzo-soprano) and an icon of eighteenth-century European opera. The gentlewoman is captured in a three-quarter pose, facing to the right, while directing a languid yet piercing gaze directly at the viewer.
Her brown hair is elegantly gathered and adorned at the top with a pearl tiara and delicate blue and white flowers that recall the spring freshness typical of the Rococo style. At the earlobes hang conspicuous and precious teardrop earrings with Baroque pearls.
The singer wears a décolletage gown that leaves the shoulders and the line of the neckline exposed, characterized by a finely lace-trimmed white chemise partially covered by a rich blue mantle that is bright and color-shifting, fastened at the front with an orange ribbon.
With the right hand, visible at the bottom, she holds a raised paper music score, an explicit reference to her celebrated profession as a virtuoso of song.
The pastel shows the direct influence of Rosalba Carriera (Venice, 1673 – 1757), the queen of pastel who revolutionized the portrait genre in Europe. The anonymous follower demonstrates notable skill in replicating the effects typical of the master's school:
The pastel rendering aims to emulate the celebrated softness of the skin and the hazy shading that made the faces of Carriera iconic.
The soft, front lighting makes the figure emerge from a neutral monochrome background, toned to bluish-gray hues, which heightens the color contrast with the blue mantle.
Although the contour definition is slightly more marked than the exceptionally airy and ethereal touch of the Venetian master, the work stands as a faithful, high-quality historical derivative, designed to satisfy the broad demand for portraits of celebrities of the era by nobles and Grand Tour collectors.
The pastel in question directly imitates the famous autograph prototype Rosalba Carriera produced between 1724 and 1725, whose reference masterpiece is today housed at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden, with a second version known at Ca’ Rezzonico in Venice.
While Carriera’s original is distinguished by that almost impalpable, chalky, airy touch that fuses light directly with the singer’s skin, this follower’s version adopts a slightly more concrete and defined language. The anonymous painter shows a secure but more graphic hand, evident especially in the line of the eyes, in the definition of the fingers, and in the rendering of the sheet music, which appears more schematic compared with the Carriera master’s softness.
Also in chromatic terms there is a subtle difference: where Rosalba Carriera plays with delicate transparencies and muted chromatic accords, this follower prefers more compact and saturated color washes, giving the blue mantle and the orange ribbon a more precise chiaroscuro contrast. It is, in short, a faithful and high-quality historical translation, capable of conveying the intact charm and Rococo beauty ideal of the original.
The work comes from art collections donated to support the Italian Leniterapia Foundation (FILE) ETS, a prestigious entity active in social-healthcare assistance and palliative care. The painting, included in the Foundation’s valorization and fundraising circuits, represents not only a precious document of private collection tied to late 18th-early 19th century Venetian art, but also a key vehicle of social solidarity for the organization’s care activities.
The work presents a modest overall state of conservation. Protected by glass that has preserved the delicate pastel over time, shielding it from dust and humidity. The painted film is stable and the pigments retain considerable chromatic vitality, particularly in the intense blue of the mantle and in flesh tones. Only the physiological signs of time are found, such as minimal and localized abrasions along the perimeter edges, largely hidden by the frame.
The piece shows a fair state of conservation. The pastel surface displays a stable application, with no evident powdering or macroscopic pigment detachment, maintaining good color vividness (especially in the blues and skin tones). There are slight, physiological signs of aging and superficial deposits in keeping with the period, with minor abrasions along the margins partially covered by the frame.
Dimensions of the work are 42 x 32 cm, with a contemporaneous dark-modan wooden frame (frame size about 47 x 37 x 4 cm, with defects).
The painting is sold without an external frame, although it is set in a beautiful carved and gilded wooden frame.

Provenance: The work comes from an Italian private collection and its recent market trace confirms its transfer at auction for charitable purposes in support of the Italian Leniterapia Foundation (FILE) ETS.

Publication:
- I Miti e il Territorio nella Sicilia dalle mille culture. INEDITA QUADRERIA general catalog of the paintings from the cycle “I Miti e il territorio,” 2026 (Pdf).

The work will be shipped – being fragile and with glass – in a wooden crate with polystyrene. In case of sale outside Italian territory, the buyer must await the processing times for export procedures.