Giuseppe Molteni

Possibly commissioned by Giulio Renato Litta (1763–1839) in circa 1830;

Possibly by descent within the family, Villa Litta, Lainate;

Anonymous sale, Genoa, Cambi, 17 May 2017, lot 228 (as Lombard painter, early 19th century);

Where acquired.

Painted in circa 1830 with the refined elegance characteristic of Giuseppe Molteni’s portraiture, this elegant work depicts Camilla Lomellini Tabarca, a member of a distinguished Genoese family who, in 1815, married Pompeo Litta Visconti Arese (1785–1835). She is depicted here, seated beside a fountain in a verdant garden, her figure framed by tall trees and an expansive landscape opening onto a serene lake with a classical temple beyond. Camilla’s composed expression, slightly averted gaze, and poised hands suggest a moment of private reflection, marking a departure from the more formal, static conventions of eighteenth-century portraiture. She wears a white gown with voluminous puffed sleeves covered in transparent tulle, the waist delicately cinched with a pink belt fastened by a gold buckle.

Her likeness appears in a in another comparable portrait of the same period by Genoese painter Matteo Picasso (1794–1879) formerly in the collection of the Ospedale Maggiore, Milan.¹

¹ https://ladyreading.forumfree.it/?t=53614705&st=30