Ippolito Leoni

Probably Gilbert Paignon-Dijonval (1708-1792), Paris;

probably Samuel Woodburn (1786-1853), London;

probably Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919), London;

Henry Scipio Reitlinger (1882-1950), London,

his sale, London, Sotheby's, 9 December 1953, lot 62 (as Ottavio Leoni);

with P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., Ltd., by 1954,

where acquired by Winslow and Anna Ames, Saunderstown, Rhode Island (L.2602a),

thence by descent

H. S. Reitlinger, Old Master Drawings: A Handbook for Amateurs and Collectors, London 1922, p. 142, pl. 33, reproduced (as Gerard van Honthorst);

J.T. Spike, Baroque Portraiture in Italy, Works from North American collections, exhib. cat., Sarasota 1984, p. 19 (as Attributed to Ippolito Leoni);

Y. Primarosa, Ottavio Leoni (1578–1630) Eccellente miniator di ritratti: catalogo ragionato dei disegni e dei dipinti, Rome 2017, p. 23 , note 50, p. 497, fig. 401.1, reproduced

This sophisticated image of a young girl, wearing a turban and holding an oil lamp was, presumably due to its subject matter, associated with Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656), when in the Reitlinger collection. However, by the time it appeared in 1953, in the Reitlinger sale (see Provenance), it was more accurately called Ottavio Leoni (1578-1630). It was first associated to Ippolito Leoni, Ottavio's stepson, in the catalogue of the exhibition curated by John Spike in Sarasota in 1984 (see Literature). Yuri Primarosa in his informative monograph on Ottavio Leoni has stressed again the attribution to Ippolito (see Literature) and has suggested that the model of this portrait is Maddalena Telli, Ottavio's stepdaughter. The drawing is inscribed in pen and ink on the recto by Ippolito with the date: 23/novembre, 1632. Maddalena, sister of Ippolito, was the daughter of Caterina Cucchiaroni, a widow married by Ottavio in 1615.

As noted by Primarosa, Ottavio's affection for Maddalena is reflected in a number of subtle portrayals of the young girl, who was also used as a model for some of Ottavio’s paintings.¹ A particularly touching, small drawing in the Fondation Custodia, Paris,² dated by Primarosa to around 1616, shows Maddalena bust-length, looking up to the left, lit by candle light; while in another study, in the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence,³ also drawn by candle light, Ottavio writes at the bottom of the sheet: fatta alli 11 febraro 1617 di notte madalena (done the 11^th of February 1617, at night madalena).⁴

The present study is also executed by candlelight, and Maddalena, in a Caravaggesque theatrical trend, is disguised, as suggested by Primarosa, possibly as sybil, a servant or a wise virgin.

¹Primarosa, op. cit., p. 23, cat. nos. 59, 54, reproduced respectively, figs. 74, 97

²Paris, Fondation Custodia, inv. 2887; Primarosa, loc. cit., reproduced fig. 15, cat. 362

³Providence, Rhode Island School of Design, Museum of Art, inv. 52.195

⁴Primarosa, loc. cit., reproduced fig. 16, cat. 363