Vittorio Emanuele II

Inscription: Inscribed in ink on print/mount, recto B: "L'infelice padrone // bacia le mani // alla carissima // Nicchia // 28 luglio 1867"; printed on mount, verso C: "[stamp of Cesare Bernieri studio]"; inscribed in pencil on mat, verso TC: "L'infelice padrone bacia le mani // alla carissima Nicchia // aut. Victor Emmanuel II"; stamped in gilt on case binding, T: "L'INFELICE // PADRONE // BACIA // LE MANI // ALLA // CARISSIMA // NICCHIA"; printed on paper affixed to case lining, LC: "Giannalisa Feltrinelli"

(sold, E. Ader, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 11, 1951, lot 92); Carlo-Alberto Chiesa, Milan; Giannalisa Feltrinelli, Milan; (Christie's, Rome, March 6, 1998, lot 987); Gilman Paper Company Collection, New York

Vittorio Emanuele II (1820-1878), King of Sardinia and Piedmont, and King of Italy from 1861, was responsible (with Cavour) for the unification of Italy. The King's affectionate dedication of this photograph to the Countess, following the tragic death of her husband, to whom he was deeply attached, testifies to their close relationship. Their liason began in 1855, before the Castigliones left for Paris. However, the King withstood the repeated demands made on him over the years by the Countess. In 1867-68, when she returned to Italy, he appears to have been pleased to see her again. Perhaps it was because of this renewal of interest in her that her annual pension was doubled. To Princess Mathilde, however, Vittorio Emanuele confided that "the Countess was an Arab filly; even if held on a tight rein, she would still cause you to fall."

There is a large photograph by C. Bernieri, the official court photographer in Turin, in the Fondazione Umberto II et Maria Josè di Savoia, Lausanne. Reduced versions of this portrait exist in both album and carte-de-visite formats. [Pierre Apraxine, "La Divine Comtesse", p. 181-2]

Palazzo Cavour, Turin. "La Contessa di Castiglione e il suo tempo," March 31, 2000–July 2, 2000.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photographs. "Paradise of Exiles: Early Photography in Italy," March 13–August 13, 2017.

Apraxine, Pierre, and Xavier Demange. La Divine Comtesse: Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione. New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. no. 69, pp. 181–182.

Corgnati, Martina, and Cecilia Ghibaudi. La Contessa Di Castiglione e Il Suo Tempo. Cinisello Balsamo, Italy: Silvana Editoriale, 2000. pp. 85, 227.