Artwork Details
31-3/4 x 25-7/8 in. (canvas) 40-1/4 x 33-3/4 x 2-3/8 in. (framed)
Mark DescriptionNot Inscribed
Accession NumberDelavan Smith Fund
CopyrightEuropean Painting and Sculpture Before 1800
Color PaletteProbably Cardinal Jules Mazarin [1601-1661], Rome, Italy.{1} (Unknown dealer, Vienna, Austria);{ 2} (Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna) by 1937.{3} Benedict Nicolson [1914-1978], London, England;{4} (The Arcade Gallery, London) by 1955;{5} purchased by the John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, now Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, in 1956 (56.72) {6}. {1} Jean-Pierre Cuzin, in his article Pour Valentin, Revue de lart, 28 (1975), p. 54 attributes the painting to Valentin de Boulogne based on an inventory of Mazarins collection where it is listed as no. 1270. See Inventaire inédit dressé après la mort du Cardinal Mazarin en 1661 in Gabriel-Jules de Cosnac, Les Richesses du Palais Mazarin, Paris 1885, p. 342, where the description of the painting matches the IMAs painting perfectly, although the sitters name is misspelled there as Mevicurcio. The history of the painting's attributions and theories about the identity of the sitter are related in Anthony F. Janson with A. Ian Fraser, Indianapolis Museum of Art: 100 Masterpieces of Painting, Indianapolis, 1980, pp. 68-70 (illustration) {2 } A letter from Robert Herzig of the Galerie Sanct Lucas, dated 20 July 1961, states we bought it from another Viennese dealer. See IMA Historical File (56.72). {3} See the catalogue, Galerie Sanct Lucas, Ausstellung Italienische Barockmalerei, May - June 1937, catalogue no. 114 (illustration) {4} A letter from Nicolson, editor of The Burlington Magazine, dated 23 May 1956, confirming his previous ownership, is retained in the IMA Historical File (56.72). {5} See the catalogue, The Arcade Gallery, The Flamboyance of Italian Baroque Painting, 17 June - 15 July 1955, catalogue no. 6 (illustration) {6} See IMA Temporary Receipt No. 6274, dated 11 May 1956.
The French painter Valentin de Boulogne was a member of the first generation of Caravaggio followers in Rome. In this, his only known portrait, Valentin provides a superb characterization of an arrogant and rather unsavory character.
Rafaello Menicucci, a jester attached to the court of Pope Urban VIII, was a notorious social climber who was obsessed with the idea of his own fame. Nicknamed "Count," Menicucci holds a drawing of a fortified tower inscribed "Castle of the Count" in his honor.
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Valentin de Bologne: Beyond Caravaggio
The Mezzanine Gallery-The Metropolitan Museum of Art
October 4, 2016 - January 22, 2017
Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture
Museo Nazionale del Bargello
April 2, 2009 - July 12, 2009
From Caravaggio to Mattia Preti: The International Caravaggesque Movement
Palazzo Reale
October 3, 2005 - February 15, 2006
Rome 1600: Caravaggio, Carracci, Rubens
Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia
May 2, 2001 - September 16, 2001
Rome 1600: Caravaggio, Carracci, Rubens
The Royal Academy of Arts London
January 20, 2001 - April 16, 2001
A Shared Heritage: Art by Four African Americans
Indianapolis Museum of Art
February 24, 1996 - April 2, 1996
Baroque Portraiture in Italy: Works from North American Collections
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
March 20, 1985 - May 20, 1985
Barouque Portraiture in Italy: Works from North American Collections
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
December 5, 1984 - February 3, 1985
Italienische Barockmalerie
Dates Unknown
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