Italian school of the 19th century - Lot 228

Italian school of the 19th century Portrait of Caroline Bonaparte, Queen of Naples Circa 1812 Terra cotta plaque Inscribed on the back: "Ex collection Claude Philippe (Eli Himars?) Londres 1867". 16 x 10.5 cm The portrait of a queen of the arts Caroline Murat, Napoleon 1st's youngest sister, is renowned for her beauty, elegance, wit and culture, as well as her political intelligence. Married to the flamboyant general Joachim Murat in 1800 at just eighteen, with whom she fell head over heels in love, Imperial Highness in 1804 and Queen of Naples from 1808 to 1815, she fulfilled her destiny as a sovereign in both the political and artistic spheres. In the manner of Antonio Canova This work reproduces the features immortalized by Canova in the famous bust commissioned by the Queen of Naples in 1812. The artist traveled from Rome to Naples, where he produced two plaster models to be used for the marble translation. He produced a bust in which the sovereign's features are far removed from reality, in a style characteristic of the Italian sculptor who preferred to create ideal figures close to ancient models.