(Venice 1698–1750 Rome)
Portrait of an artistocratic lady,
signed on the reverse: Longhi,
oil on paper, mounted on canvas, 29.9 x 23.5 cm, framed

We are grateful to Dr Arabella Cifani, who has identified the present painting as an autograph work by the artist and for having written an extensive analysis, which accompanies the present lot.

The present portrait shows a noble lady in rich robes with sumptuous jewelry and pearl corsage. It shows meticulous attention to detail in the Rococo-like hairstyle with pearls and a feather inserted through her hair. The female sitter is certainly of high rank whereas the pearls allude perhaps to a wedding. The features of the lady are very close to those of the beautiful and unlucky Princess Maria Clementina Sobieski and a comparison with known portraits proves to be particularly indicative. Maria Clementina was born in Poland on 18 July 1702, as the daughter of James Louis Sobieski and Countess Palatine Hedwig Elisabeth of Neuburg. Her marriage to James Francis Edward Stuart, 'The Old Pretender', was intended to bring wealth because Mary was one of the richest heiresses in Europe.
As to the attribution to David, in her written report Dr Cifani convincingly compares the present portrait with another painting attributed to David in The Walter's Art Museum in Baltimore, present in the photo library of Federico Zeri, which depicts the lady with a treatment of the face and robe very similar to that of the woman in the present painting.