Portrait of Count Fulvio Grati

Crespi, Giuseppe Maria (1665-1747)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

ca. 1720-1725

Height:

228.0 cm  (89 3/4 in.)

Width:

153.0 cm  (60 1/4 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

From the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum website: Through the choice of objects included in the composition, Crespi indicates the sitter’s interest in music, an art form that is also present in a number of other paintings by the artist. The impressive, large-scale figure of Fulvio Grati with its theatrical illumination provides the focus point for the painting. The sitter holds a lute that rests on his lap while his other hand rests on a table and delicately grasps a small mandolin. The Count is accompanied by two servants, of which the one behind him holds up a very large curtain that acts as the backdrop to the principal figure, while the richly dressed black page in the foreground on the right holds a number of musical scores. The position of that figure was corrected by Crespi to judge from the pentimenti to be found on the level of his right leg and left arm. Crespi’s skills at still-life painting are evident in a large number of his paintings and are to be seen here in the lower left corner of this large canvas.We see a still life consisting of the case of the lute, some loose sheets of music and a book, behind which is a small, seated dog looking curiously out at the viewer.

People as subjects

Grati, Fulvio, Count (18th century) (Musician portrait)

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Lute [3394]
Milanese mandolin [3514]
Harp [3285]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

RIdIM record id

5615