Giuseppe Macpherson (1726-c. 1780)
Ippolito Galantini (1627-1706) c.1772-80
6.9 x 5.5 cm (sight) | RCIN 421322
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Ippolito Galantini (1627-1706) was born in Genoa. He was known as Il Capuccino (the Capuchin) and il prete Genovese (the Genoese priest) because he became a Capuchin monk. Galantini was sent as a missionary to India for a number of years. He was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Battista Stefaneschi, and among his pupils were Giovanna Fratellini and Bernardo Strozzi.
This miniature is one of the collection of copies of 224 self-portraits by artists in the Uffizi Palace, Florence, that Lord Cowper, the art collector and patron, commissioned Giuseppe Macpherson (1726-1780) to paint. He presented the miniatures to King George III in two batches, in 1773 and 1786. Macpherson followed the original self-portraits quite closely, but copied only the head and shoulders. He inscribed the artists' names on the backs of the miniatures – several differ from those in the modern Uffizi catalogue, notably: Bazzi, Bellini, Campi, Annibale Carracci, Gabbiani, Masaccio, Metsys, Moroni, Pencz, Licinio, Schiavone and Spada. None of the miniatures is signed, apart from Macpherson's own self-portrait, which is inscribed: Giuseppe Macpherson / Autore della serie (Giuseppe Macpherson / Author of the series).Macpherson was born in Florence, the son of Donald Macpherson, a footman in the service of Alexander, 2nd Duke of Gordon. He was a pupil of Pompeo Batoni and painted miniatures and enamel portraits in Italy, France and Germany, finally settling in Florence. A James Macpherson is recorded in London and Paris in 1754 but it is not certain that this is the same person. He was described in 1776 as having a special talent for painting on enamel and as being 'almost the only painter in Europe who possesses this art to perfection'. He had a distinguished client list which included some of the crowned heads and dignitaries of Europe. In 1778, he was invited to add his own self-portrait to the famous painters in the grand duke's collection as it 'would do honour to Florence to enrich the collection with a work which shows that we still have some men of true merit' according to Giuseppe Pelli, director of the Uffizi at the time.Provenance
Presented to George III by Lord Cowper
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Measurements
6.9 x 5.5 cm (sight)