Gian Lorenzo Berti (Traversi)

Gian Lorenzo Berti
ArtistGaspare Traversi
Yearbetween 1754 and 1756
Mediumoil painting on canvas
MovementRococo
portrait painting
SubjectGiovanni Lorenzo Berti
Dimensions135 cm × 101 cm (53 in × 40 in)[1]
LocationMusée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg
Accession1890

Gian Lorenzo Berti is a portrait painting Neapolitan Italian Rococo painter Gaspare Traversi. It is on display in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Strasbourg, France. Its inventory number is 182.[2]

The painting depicts the Augustinian theologian Giovanni Lorenzo Berti (also known as Gianlorenzo Berti, or Gian Lorenzo Berti), and was painted in Rome between 1754 and 1756. It was bought for the museum in 1890 by Wilhelm von Bode, from the collection of Gustave Rothan [da], together with Ribera's Saint Peter and Saint Paul.[1][2]

On account of its severity and its stateliness, this 18th-century portrait painting was at first thought to be a work by the 17th-century painter Andrea Sacchi, who had in fact preceded Traversi by several generations. It was attributed to Traversi by Roberto Longhi in 1922; Longhi would later heap fulsome praise on the painting, calling it "one of the most beautiful portraits of the whole 18th century" in a 1927 article full of enthusiastic descriptions. The sitter was subsequently identified as Berti by Francesco Barocelli in 1990.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b c Roy, Alain (June 2017). De Giotto à Goya. Peintures italiennes et espagnoles du musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg. Musées de la ville de Strasbourg. pp. 236–237. ISBN 978-2-35125-151-5.
  2. ^ a b c Jacquot, Dominique (2006). Le musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg. Cinq siècles de peinture. Strasbourg: Musées de Strasbourg. pp. 140–141. ISBN 2-901833-78-0.