Portrait

The Venetian Rosalba Carriera was famous for her pastel portraits in the 18th century. The Dresden Picture Gallery is devoting an exhibition to her.

Gentle: Rossalba Carriera, Portrait of a young man in a blue coat (detail) Photo: Estel/Klut, Old Masters Picture Gallery, Dresden State Art Collections

The Venetian Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757) was one of the most successful artists in European art history, a portraitist who portrayed the high society of Europe, a superstar of pastel painting and as a celebrity and successful businesswoman in the 18th century quite comparable to the pop artist and portraitist Andy Warhol.

The Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden is celebrating Rosalba Carriera’s 350th birthday with a large retrospective of her works. It not only describes this unique artist, but also the Rococo way of life and Dresden’s role as a leading art metropolis. A great admirer of Rosalba Carriera was the Saxon Prince Friedrich August II, son of Augustus the Strong and later King Augustus III. from Poland.

In his newly designed picture gallery in Dresden’s stable courtyard, he dedicated the “Rosalba Cabinet” to her, and he exhibited 157 of her pastel pictures there. His passion for collecting went so far that he sent out messengers all over Europe to acquire pictures of the Carriera. He went to Venice several times to have himself painted by the famous artist.

The original “Rosalba cabinet” is now on display again in the Dresden Zwinger, expanded to include loans from other European collections, such as the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which only exceptionally allowed the sensitive works of art to travel to Germany for the anniversary exhibition.

Innovative use of pastel chalk

Rosalba Carriera achieved her place in art history through her innovative use of pastel chalk, which until then had primarily been used for drawing and quick sketching on paper. Carriera, however, uses pastels extensively, recognizing them as the ideal medium for her portraits and allegorical depictions.

Rather bitter: Rosalba Carriera, Self-Portrait as Winter, 1731 Photo: Katrin Jacob/Wolfgang Kreische, Old Masters Picture Gallery, Dresden State Art Collections

The exhibition sheds light on the unique career of a woman from a humble background: the daughter of an employee and a lacemaker had to take care of her mother and sisters after the death of her father, who earned the money. She began painting miniatures, which male artists had little interest in at the time. In a short time, the self-taught artist with her portraits and allegorical depictions became so well known in the Italian art scene that she was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca in Rome in 1705. An unusual award for an artist at a time when women rarely received artistic training.

In 1720 Carriera also joined the Accademia Clementina in Bologna, and the following year she accepted the important French Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris.

Carriera knew how to market her art, was well connected in Venice, and frequented diplomatic circles. Word of her skills quickly got around in Europe and it was considered good manners to have a portrait taken by Rosalba Carriera on a trip to Europe. In 1720 Carriera spent a successful year in Paris, as did the young King Louis XV. presided over her there for a portrait.

The curator of the exhibition, Roland Enke, draws from the rich Dresden collection and introduces the audience to the lagoon city of Venice with Canaletto’s views of the Grand Canal, where Rosalba Carriera resided in a palazzo next to today’s Guggenheim collection. Due to war losses, theft and sales, only 70 of the 157 pastel paintings from the “Rosalba cabinet” are now preserved in the Dresden collections. Nobles, kings, artists, Venetians, all kinds of people sat with her models. In the midst of the portraits, that of herself stands out as an allegory of winter: a harsh woman, confidently looking at you with a cool gaze. In addition, an enlarged detail of the self-portrait illustrates the virtuosity of the artist. The color density, the powderiness – Carriera’s pastel painting must have impressed Impressionists like Auguste Renoir 150 years later.

How difficult it is to restore their fragile works is conveyed in Dresden using two severely damaged pictures. The tedious production of pastel colors and the associated painting techniques are also explained. These were not far removed from the fashion of the 18th century, as can be seen in the show. Because the chalky, creamy surface of the pastels corresponded to the Rococo ideal of beauty, the flawless, pale pink make-up faces with lots of blush, the powdered hair and curly wigs. As is well known, women and men wore the lush hairstyle equally. All sexes liked to adorn themselves at the time of Rosalba Carriera.

2023-07-04 07:06:45
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