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Portrait of a Lady with an Elaborate Cartouche
About the Artwork
The woman portrayed in the oval has not yet been identified, but she is made to look highly important by her rendition in profile, like an ancient Renaissance coin, and by the elaborate decoration surrounding the cartouche (the central area containing the portrait). Increasing her distinction, the flying male nudes personify Victory and Fame, while the crown, that of an English viscountess, indicates her nobility. The contrast in technique between the cartouche—composed of pen, ink, and watercolor—and the red-chalk portrait was purposefully emphasized to suggest that the portrait is an older "icon" of reverence. Giuseppe Cades was an important history painter and frescoist, known also for his decorative ensembles, whose influence can be detected in the decorative quality of this composition. This drawing combines the contemporary French Rococo style of the red chalk portrait with the antique-based, Italian style of the surrounding decorative figures and forms. A finished work rather than a preparatory study, it would have been made as a souvenir for the English tourist during her stay in Rome on the Grand Tour.
Inscriptions
by artist, center, around portrait, in red chalk: cata cssa de [illegible] aets. 3[2?] ad. 1785.
Provenance
?-1952: Archibald George Blomefield Russell [1879-1955], London, (Lugt 2770a). 1952: with P. & D. Colnaghi, London, April 29-May 30 1952, cat. no. 43 (as Augustin de St. Aubin). 1952-1953: Ray Livingston Murphy, New York, NY (1923-1953) by inheritance to his mother, Ray Slater Murphy, 1953. 1953-1985: Ray Slater Murphy (later Blakeman), New York, NY (1895-1985) 1985: (sold, as from Estate of Ray Livingston Murphy, Christie's, London, December 11-13, 1985, no. 183.) After 1985-1998: Private collection. 1998: (Sotheby's, New York, January 28, 1998, cat. no. 60) probably 1998-1999: (Thomas Williams Fine Art, Ltd, London, purchased by The Cleveland Museum of Art, Aug. 1999.) 1999-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH.
Exhibition history
Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Giuseppe Cades (Italian, 1750–1799)
- Date
- 1785
- Medium
- Red chalk over graphite (portrait), pen and black ink and watercolor over graphite (surround), circular framing line in graphite
- Dimensions
- Image: 36 x 35.9 cm (14 3/16 x 14 1/8 in.); Secondary Support: 39.1 x 38.7 cm (15 3/8 x 15 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1999.172
More by Giuseppe Cades in museum collections
The Meeting of Gautier, Count of Antwerp, and his Daughter, Violante
Giuseppe Cadesc. 1787 · Painting
The Dead Christ Mourned by Saint Mary Magdalen (recto); The Holy Family with an Attendant (verso)
Giuseppe Cades1778–87 · Drawing
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00011123
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