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Portrait of a Doge, probably Pasquale Malipiero
Gentile Bellini (Italian (Venetian), active in 1460, died in 1507)
about 1460-62
Medium/Technique
Tempera on panel
Dimensions
53.3 x 42.5 cm (21 x 16 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Anna Mitchell Richards Fund
Accession Number36.934
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
This painting probably depicts Pasquale Malipiero, the doge—or head of government—of Venice from 1457 until his death in 1462. While the blue background, the scarlet cape, and red hat (a symbol of supreme authority) are badly abraded, the doge’s face and white cloth cap are well preserved. Part of a famous family of painters, Gentile Bellini became official painter of the Venetian state in 1474 and portrayed a number of doges—though this portrait dates to an earlier moment. Scholars have recently questioned whether a young artist would have depicted such an important sitter and have instead proposed that this may actually be an exceedingly rare work by Gentile’s father, Jacopo Bellini.
ProvenanceAbout 1860s or early 1870s, probably purchased in Paris by Thomas Buckminster Curtis (b. 1795 - d. 1871) or his son, Thomas Buckminster Curtis (b. 1842 - d. 1881), Boston; by descent in the family to Fanny L. (Mrs. Louis) Curtis (b. 1865 - d. 1963), Brookline, MA [see note 1]; given by Mrs. Curtis to the Morgan Memorial Cooperative Industries and Stores, Boston; 1936, sold by Morgan Memorial to the MFA for $20,000. (Accession Date: November 15, 1936)
NOTES:
[1] According to a note recording a conversation between the MFA and Mrs. Curtis on April 6, 1937, the painting belonged to her father [sic], Thomas B. Curtis of 45 Mount Vernon Street, who had lived in the 1860s and 1870s in Paris. Mrs. Curtis's father-in-law, Thomas Buckminster Curtis, passed away in Paris in 1871. His son of the same name, Mrs. Curtis's brother-in-law, returned to Boston from Paris in 1874. The painting was kept in the family home on Mount Vernon Street.
NOTES:
[1] According to a note recording a conversation between the MFA and Mrs. Curtis on April 6, 1937, the painting belonged to her father [sic], Thomas B. Curtis of 45 Mount Vernon Street, who had lived in the 1860s and 1870s in Paris. Mrs. Curtis's father-in-law, Thomas Buckminster Curtis, passed away in Paris in 1871. His son of the same name, Mrs. Curtis's brother-in-law, returned to Boston from Paris in 1874. The painting was kept in the family home on Mount Vernon Street.