Portrait of Carolina Murat, work by, Jean Baptiste Wicar

Portrait of Carolina Murat

Jean Baptiste Wicar

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GNU - National Gallery of Umbria

Corso Vannucci, 19, Perugia

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Jean-Baptiste Wicar (Lille 1762 - Rome 1834) was a student of David in Paris, arrived in Italy following Napoleon and was involved in the artistic plunder conducted on the peninsula. He maintained good relations with the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy even after the Napoleonic decline and the return of the Ancien Regime. He enjoyed great success in Italy, not only in Rome where he was one of the most prominent painters for many years, in Naples where he was the director of the Academy, but also in Perugia, where he had strong friendships with the noble citizens. Filippo degli Oddi, who was the prior of the Confraternity of the Holy Ring, in 1822 proposed Wicar to execute the Marriage of the Virgin for the Cathedral, replacing the work of Perugino stolen by the French. In the National Gallery of Umbria and at the Academy of Fine Arts there are several works by Wicar, coming from the Carattoli collection. The Perugian painter Giuseppe Carattoli was in fact his student in Rome, then became his friend and collaborator, and finally his executor. In this small and precious female portrait, we see a woman in a seductive pose, rich in grace and naturalness, certainly reminiscent of the great French portrait tradition of the 18th century. The importance of the subject is evident from the rich accessories and the sumptuous hairstyle, but the identification of the subject is controversial. Two names have been suggested for the mysterious face of the Portrait of a Young Girl, both linked to the Neapolitan environment. Wicar resided in Naples and was the director of the Neapolitan Academy from 1806 to 1809, and after his departure he maintained ties with the city. The girl in the portrait was first identified as the sister of King Ferdinand II, suggesting a late creation, around the years 1825/30. In the second identification, the dating is brought forward and the name of Carolina Bonaparte is proposed, Napoleon's sister and wife of the King of Naples, Joachim Murat. The couple settled in 1808, so it is possible that Wicar was commissioned an official portrait and that this was a preparatory sketch. The dress in its style and fashion is very reminiscent of those worn by the women of the Bonaparte family in David's painting The Coronation of Napoleon. Recently, the hypothesis of the Bourbon princess has been revisited based on observations about Carolina Bonaparte who, in 1808, despite being 26 years old, was already the mother of four children and in official portraits appeared as a flourishing and mature woman, with an elongated face characterized by the typical Bonaparte nose, marked and slightly arched, similar to that of the emperor brother. The delicate face of Wicar's young girl suggests a rather young, slender girl with a small, round nose. In both cases, it is an important commission, an official portrait for the King of Naples. Wicar's wonderful sketch leaves one to imagine what the complete work could have been like.

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Title: Portrait of Carolina Murat

Author: Jean Baptiste Wicar

Date: 1809

Technique: Oil on canvas

Displayed in: GNU - National Gallery of Umbria

Portrait of Carolina Murat

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