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 parchment
Pastel on paper, cm. 42 x 32
Framed size, cm. 47 x 37 x 3 approx.

NOTE: Publication of the catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection (pdf). Unsigned work. Guarantee and Legitimate Provenance Certificate. Work with an old dark moanwood plinth and glass. Work without 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 score.
The work, in fact, offers a refined half-length likeness of Faustina Bordoni (1697–1781), a renowned Venetian opera singer (mezzo-soprano) and an icon of European 18th-century opera. The noblewoman is captured in a three-quarter pose, turned to the right, while directing a languid and piercing gaze directly at the viewer.
Her brown hair is elegantly gathered and embellished at the top with a pearl diadem and delicate blue and white flowers that recall the spring freshness typical of the Rococo style. Dangling from the lobes are prominent, precious drop earrings with Baroque pearls.
The singer wears a décolleté gown that leaves the shoulders and the neckline exposed, characterized by a finely lace-edged white chemise and partially covered by a rich blue mantle that is bright and iridescent, fastened at the front with an orange ribbon.
With the right hand, visible at the bottom, she holds a raised sheet of music, a direct allusion to her celebrated profession as a virtuoso singer.
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 Venetian teacher’s school:
The pastel application attempts to emulate the famous softness of the skin and the vaporous sfumato that made Carriera’s faces iconic.
The soft, frontal lighting makes the figure emerge from a neutral monochrome background, shifted to bluish-gray tones, which heightens the color contrast with the blue of the mantle.
Although the contour definition is somewhat more marked than the extraordinarily airy and ethereal touch of the Venetian mistress, the work stands as a high-quality epochal derivative, conceived to satisfy the wide demand for portraits of celebrities of the era by nobles and Grand Tour collectors.
The pastel in question is directly inspired by the famous autograph prototype that Rosalba Carriera executed between 1724 and 1725, whose reference masterpiece is today conserved 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 and aerial touch that fuses light directly with the singer’s complexion, this follower’s version adopts a somewhat more concrete and defined language. The anonymous painter shows a confident but more graphic hand, especially in the line of the eyes, the definition of the fingers, and the rendering of the musical score, which appears more schematic compared to the softness of the paper painted by the Venetian master.
Also in chromatic terms there is a subtle difference: where Rosalba Carriera plays with delicate transparencies and subdued color harmonies, the follower prefers more compact and saturated color applications, giving the blue mantle and orange ribbon a sharper chiaroscuro contrast. In short, it is a faithful and high-quality epochal translation, capable of transmitting the original Rococo beauty and charm intact.
The work comes from art collections donated to support the Italian Leniterapia Foundation (FILE) ETS, a prestigious entity active in social health care and palliative care. The painting, included in the Foundation’s valuation and fundraising circuits, represents not only a precious document of private collecting tied to 18th- to 19th-century Venetian art, but also a fundamental vehicle of social solidarity for sustaining the Foundation’s care activities.
The work presents a decent overall state of preservation. Protected by glass that has preserved the pastel’s delicate nature over time, shielding it from dust and humidity. The painted film is stable and the pigments retain remarkable color vitality, especially in the intense blue of the mantle and in the flesh tones. Only the physiological signs of time are evident, such as minimal and localized abrasions along the peripheral edges, mostly hidden by the frame’s lip.
The work shows a fair overall conservation status. The pastel surface exhibits a stable application, with no evident powdering or macroscopic pigment detachments, maintaining good color vivacity (notably in the blues and flesh tones). Minor and physiological signs of aging and surface deposits consistent with the period are present, with minimal abrasions along the margins, partially covered by the frame’s lip.
Dimensions of the piece are 42 x 32 cm, with an old dark moanwood plinth (frame size approx. 47 x 37 x 4 cm, with defects).
The painting is offered without an external frame, although it is enhanced by a beautiful carved and gilded wooden frame.

Provenance: The work comes from an Italian private collection, and its recent market trace confirms its transfer to auction with the aim of benefiting the Italian Leniterapia Foundation (FILE) ETS.

Publication:
- I Miti e il Territorio nella Sicilia dalle mille culture. UNPUBLISHED QUADRERIA catalog general of the paintings of 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. If sold outside Italian territory, the buyer must await the export procedures.