Anton Raphael Mengs (German, 1728–1779)
Portrait of Cardinal Zelada
INV-3089
Anton Raphael Mengs (German, 1728–1779)1773
Portrait of Cardinal Zelada
Anton Raphael Mengs (German, 1728–1779) →18th Centuryoil on panelportrait
Date
1773
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
90 × 66 cm (35 7/16 × 26 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Silvain and Arma Wyler Foundation
Anton Raphael Mengs worked for princely clients in Dresden, Madrid, Naples, and Rome, and was an early promoter of the Neoclassical style in art and writing. Francesco Saverio Zelada, depicted here, was an enthusiast of the arts and sciences who eventually rose to the position of Secretary of State for the Vatican. This work was probably commissioned when Zelada was made a cardinal in 1773. The sitter proudly holds a biretta, the scarlet cap traditionally worn by cardinals. Meng’s masterful use of color and texture to enhance the status of his sitters is on full display here through the evocation of silk, lace, fur, and ruddy flesh.
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