The Birth of Caterina Cornaro
painter
Unknown
Date16th century
Place MadeVenice, Veneto, Italy, Europe
MediumOil on maple panel
Dimensions40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP25w41
eMuseum ID722860
EmbARK ObjectID12056
TMS Source ID1204
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryIsabella Gardner bought this painting in 1895 as a depiction of the birth of Caterina Cornaro, the Venetian queen of Cyprus. Caterina lived a dramatic life. Born in Venice, she married the king of Cyprus, an island that provided a gateway to the Middle East. She became queen in her own right, but was rigidly controlled by Venetian agents, and was eventually forced to abdicate.
Isabella was especially drawn to important Renaissance women and collected their portraits or objects associated with them.
Isabella was especially drawn to important Renaissance women and collected their portraits or objects associated with them.
BibliographyNotesGalleria Sangiorgi. Collection de Tableaux et d'Objets d'Art qui Seront Vendus Pour le Compte de la Banque Populaire et Caisse d'Epargne de Gènes... (Rome, 6 April 1895), p. 4, lot 17. (as school of Floris Frans; entitled "The Marriage of Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus")
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 17. (unattributed; entitled "[T]he History of Caterina Cornaro")
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 152. (the subject as supposed to be incidents in the life of Caterina Cornaro)
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), pp. 401-03, ill. (as Venetian or Austrian, 1550-1600; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 210. (as Venetian in subject and style but possibly South German, 2nd half of the 16th century; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 31 (29 Mar. 1964), p. 2. (as artist unknown; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro")
Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections (Cambridge, 1972), p. 246. (as Venetian, 16th century; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 278-80, ill. (as Venetian or Austrian, 1550-1600; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Diane Owen Hughes. "Representing the Family: Portraits and Purposes in Early Modern Italy." Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 17 (Summer 1986), pp. 18-20, n18, fig. 3. (as Venetian or Austrian; the title and creator as uncertain)
Jacqueline Marie Muscacchio. The Art and Ritual of Childbirth in Renaissance Italy (New Haven, 1999), pp. 44-45, fig. 32. (as Austrian, 2nd half of the 16th century; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro")
Candida Syndikus et al. (eds.). Caterina Cornaro: Last Queen of Cyprus and Daughter of Venice (Münster, 2013), p. 23, fig. 7. (as Venetian, 16th century; "The Birth of Caterina of Cornaro (?)")
Holly S. Hurlburt. Daughter of Venice: Caterina Corner, Queen of Cyrus and Woman of the Renaissance (New Haven, 2015), pp. 15-16, 246, fig. 5.
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 17. (unattributed; entitled "[T]he History of Caterina Cornaro")
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 152. (the subject as supposed to be incidents in the life of Caterina Cornaro)
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), pp. 401-03, ill. (as Venetian or Austrian, 1550-1600; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 210. (as Venetian in subject and style but possibly South German, 2nd half of the 16th century; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 31 (29 Mar. 1964), p. 2. (as artist unknown; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro")
Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections (Cambridge, 1972), p. 246. (as Venetian, 16th century; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 278-80, ill. (as Venetian or Austrian, 1550-1600; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro (?)")
Diane Owen Hughes. "Representing the Family: Portraits and Purposes in Early Modern Italy." Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 17 (Summer 1986), pp. 18-20, n18, fig. 3. (as Venetian or Austrian; the title and creator as uncertain)
Jacqueline Marie Muscacchio. The Art and Ritual of Childbirth in Renaissance Italy (New Haven, 1999), pp. 44-45, fig. 32. (as Austrian, 2nd half of the 16th century; entitled "The Birth of Caterina Cornaro")
Candida Syndikus et al. (eds.). Caterina Cornaro: Last Queen of Cyprus and Daughter of Venice (Münster, 2013), p. 23, fig. 7. (as Venetian, 16th century; "The Birth of Caterina of Cornaro (?)")
Holly S. Hurlburt. Daughter of Venice: Caterina Corner, Queen of Cyrus and Woman of the Renaissance (New Haven, 2015), pp. 15-16, 246, fig. 5.
MarksNotesInscribed (on a Galleria Sangiorgi label affixed to the frame): Data 9/4/95 / Numero 17, Compratori Gardner
Inscribed (on a paper label affixed to the panel, verso): [7 or 9]
Mark (on the panel, verso): the seal of the Austrian Empire (circular: imperial double headed eagle with oval escucheon; defaced on breast; an illegible inscription; probably 19th century)
Mark (on the panel, verso): the seal of the Papal States (oval: papal gonfanon, staff between two stars with the word "LETTERE" below; inscription around the edge destroyed, only the word "ROM[A]" remains; 19th century)
Mark (on the panel, verso): unidentified, baddly abbraded seal (a monogram with three or four cursive capital letters)
Inscribed (on a paper label affixed to the panel, verso): [7 or 9]
Mark (on the panel, verso): the seal of the Austrian Empire (circular: imperial double headed eagle with oval escucheon; defaced on breast; an illegible inscription; probably 19th century)
Mark (on the panel, verso): the seal of the Papal States (oval: papal gonfanon, staff between two stars with the word "LETTERE" below; inscription around the edge destroyed, only the word "ROM[A]" remains; 19th century)
Mark (on the panel, verso): unidentified, baddly abbraded seal (a monogram with three or four cursive capital letters)
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from a sale at the Galleria Sangiorgi, Rome for about 475 lire on 13 April 1895, lot 17. (as school of the Flemish painter Floris Frans the Elder, about 1519-1570)
Object/Provenance
