Portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci

Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

ca. 1773

Height:

76.6 cm  (30 3/16 in.)

Width:

64.0 cm  (25 3/16 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

Giusto Tenducci was a celebrated Italian singer who moved to England from 1758.
He was noted for his vanity and an extravagance which left him continually dodging his creditors. Here he is shown performing, perhaps in a domestic setting. A raised eyebrow suggests that he has hit the sort of high note associated with a castrato singer.
Gainsborough was a keen musician and he painted many portraits of musical friends as gifts or as show pieces. The painting is unfinished. The existence of another completed version in a private collection suggests that the artist perhaps abandoned this canvas and began again.

People as subjects

Tenducci, Giusto Ferdinando (ca. 1736-1790) (Musician portrait)

Iconclass

48C8313
portrait of opera-singer

Musical works

illegible music notation

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

Bibliographic references

Duncan, Cheryll. "'A debt contracted in Italy': Ferdinando Tenducci in a London court and prison", Early music 42/2 (May 2014) 219-229. RILM 2014-03121. DOI: 10.1093/em/cau028

RIdIM record id

4262