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Portrait of a Woman

ca. 1670s
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 618
An early biography of Gaulli suggests that he adopted from the great Baroque sculptor Bernini a procedure of encouraging his sitters not to remain motionless, but to move about naturally, speaking and carrying on their affairs, since only in this way could he produce a true likeness. This unknown woman’s formal silk dress, covered in jewels and fur, conveys her social stature. By having her toy with her pearls and face us sidelong, Gaulli has also introduced an intimate immediacy. Best known today for painting vast, illusionistic ceilings, Gaulli first rose to fame through his portraits.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Woman
  • Artist: Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio) (Italian, Genoa 1639–1709 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1670s
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 29 7/8 × 23 3/8 in. (75.9 × 59.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Álvaro Saieh Bendeck, Jean-Luc Baroni, and Fabrizio Moretti, in honor of Keith Christiansen, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.277
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Allegory of the Immaculate Conception, Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio) Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash. Squared in black chalk
Allegory of the Immaculate Conception
Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio)
1639–1709
Christ Giving the Host to a Holy Abbess (after Gaulli), Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio) Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash. Squared in black chalk
Christ Giving the Host to a Holy Abbess (after Gaulli)
Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio)
1639–1709
Allegorical Figure of Faith, Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio) Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white, over a little black chalk, on brownish paper
Allegorical Figure of Faith
Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio)
1672
Christ Giving the Host to a Holy Abbess, Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio) Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash. Squared in black chalk
Christ Giving the Host to a Holy Abbess
Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio)
1690
Allegorical Composition: Music and Justice with the Spinola Arms, Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio) Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white, over black chalk, on rose-washed paper
Allegorical Composition: Music and Justice with the Spinola Arms
Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio)
1639–1709

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