Portrait of a Lady – Ignaz Stern (1679-1748)

Ignazio Stern (or Ignaz Stern and in Italian Ignazio Stella) born in Mauerkirchen in 1679 and died in Rome in 1748 is a naturalized Italian Baroque painter.

Pupil of Carlo Cignani in Bologna, a Bolognese painter living in Forlì, he soon had the opportunity to take advantage of the good relations of the master, both with the Roman environment and with that of the Duchy of Farnese: he moved to Rome for about a decade ( 1702-1712). After his return to Forlì (1713), where he remained until 1724, the artist, probably supported by his former master, independently established his studio, taking advantage of assiduous working relations with the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. Towards the end of 1724, Stern settled permanently in Rome, where he was active until his death (1748).

Stern elaborates a language matured on the highest models of Emilian classicism – from Correggio to Reni, to which he goes back through the example of Cignani – and enriched by the experience of the rococo refinements in the painting of Luti, Trevisani and Michele Rocca said Parmigianino, interpreters in Rome of an alternative stylistic orientation to that of Carlo Maratti and close to French taste. Stern’s own way is the elaboration of soft mixtures in cold and pastel tones, the delicate fusion of lights and colors that determines a cozy atmosphere and the graceful and affected gestures of the figure, with the typical pearly complexion.

All of these characteristics are clearly evident in our painting, a canvas of bright, clear colors, soft shapes, languorous gestures and the hushed atmospheres typical of an early Rococo.

Our painting has been appraised by the art historian and expert in Emilian painting of the 17th and 18th century prof. Massimo Pirondini. It is accompanied by a signed expert report.

Related work:
Saint Dorothea, Walters Art Museum in Baltimore
Le rêve de Joseph (signed and dated 1723), private collection
Virgin with two little angels, Nuremberg Museum
Madeleine and an Angel, formerly London, Cristie’s auction 11 December 1984

Canvas cm 91 x 71