ID number: BIRBI-58.4 Institution: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts Artist / Maker: Ricci, Sebastiano (1659-1734); Ricci, Marco (1676-1730) Title / Object name: Allegorical tomb of the 1st Duke of Devonshire Object type: Painting
Culture: Italian Date made: about 1725/8 Materials: Oil on canvas Measurements: 217.8 x 138.4 cm Provenance: Commissioned by Owen McSwiny; purchased by Duke of Richmond, with him until 1790; Goodwood sale, Christie's, 1814 (lot 48), purchased by P. Hill; Sir Humphrey de Trafford sale, 26 June 1957 (lot 59), purchased by Agnew for £2,400; purchased from Messrs. Agnew in January 1958 for £3,200.
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This elaborate imaginary tomb of the Duke of Devonshire (1640-1707) was one of a series. It was commissioned by Owen McSwiney to celebrate the political triumph of the Whig party following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The monument, intact amongst the ruins of the past, is visited by figures who discuss the Duke’s character and achievements, many weeping at his loss. This exercise in political flattery was produced for the Duke of Richmond, a prominent supporter of William of Orange. The Venetian artist Sebastiano Ricci painted the figures, tomb and statues, and his nephew Marco executed the landscape.
Inscriptions / Translations: Signed I.r.: B.[astiano] M.[arco] RICCI/Faciebant; Inscribed c.r. on plint: [MANUS] HAEC/[INI]MICA/[TY]RANNIS
Notes: Exhibited: 'Italian Art and Britain', Royal Academy, London, UK, 1960, no. 434; 'Marco Ricci', Palazzo Sturm, Bassano del Grappa, Italy, 04 August 1963 - 17 November 1963, no. 59; 'Painting in Italy in the Eighteenth Century: Rococo to Romanticism', The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, USA, 19 September 1970 - 08 November 1970 (no.37); 'Works by Sebastiano Ricci from British Collections', Colnaghi, London, UK, 01 February 1978 - 08 March 1978, no. 21
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