Name of Object:

Portrait of Domenico Scarlatti

Location:

Alpiarça, Santarém, Portugal

Holding Museum:

Patudos House, Alpiarça Museum

Original Owner:

José Relvas Collection

Current Owner:

Casa dos Patudos, Museu de Alpiarça

Date of Object:

c. 1738–1739

Artist(s) / Craftsperson(s):

Attributed to Domingo António de Velasco

Museum Inventory Number:

CP 84.413

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

H: 131.1 cm; w: 109.5 cm

Workshop / Movement:

Workshop of Domingo António de Velasco

Provenance:

Bequeathed to Mariano Hernandez by José Relvas in Madrid, 1913; then left to the Municipality of Alpiarça.

Type of object:

Portrait

Period of activity:

Mid-18th century

Place of production:

Spain

Description:

Court Maestro to the exiled Polish queen Maria Kazimiera, and responsible for the Vatican's Capella Giulia, Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) was hired in 1714 as Kappelmeister by the Marquis of Fontes, Ambassador to King D. João V, at the Court of Pope Clement XI.
Scarlatti's arrival in Portugal was a result of the high praise he had received from the King of Portugal's brother, Prince D. António who had attended one of his concerts in Rome. Scarlatti arrived in Portugal in around 1720 to become Princess Maria Barbara and Prince D. Jose's music teacher. Meanwhile the Pope had consented to the upgrade of the Royal Chapel to a Patriarchal Chapel and Scarlatti was invited to become Kappelmeister of the orchestra and choir of the Patriarchal Seminar Chapel.
The Neapolitan Scarlatti's contribution to the Portuguese music scene was immense, he introduced Italian Opera, and the new musical and artistic patterns in vogue all over Europe at the time.
In 1729 Scarlatti moved to Madrid to become once again Princess Maria Bárbara's music master, who by this time had married the Prince of Asturias, son of King Philip V and future King Philip VI of Spain. He remained in Spain until his death in 1757.
Under the patronage of King D. João V, Domenico Scarlatti lived with his family in Spain where he enjoyed all the preconditions necessary to enhance his musical career and ensure his notoriety grew among his European musical peers.
The art of portraiture peaked in the 18th century, fuelled by commissions from the European monarchs. Artists such as Louis Michel Van Loo, court painter to King Philip V of Spain (grandson of Louis XIV) between 1738 and 1752, or Jean Ranc (1674–1735) gained notoriety. The latter also painted the Portuguese Royal family following H. Rigaud.
So it was that the Spanish artist Domingos António Velasco painted this portrait of Scarlatti in the Van Loo style in around 1739. Velasco depicts the maestro standing in front of an opulently painted curtain, his body twisted to the right and his hand resting on a wooden box. The light falls on the musician's face and hands, and he is dressed in a golden yellow and grey-blue ceremonial court vestment, adorned with the prestigious St James, a cognizance bestowed upon him one year previously by King D. João V, Grand-Master of the Order.

Kappelmeister of the Patriarchal orchestra and choir, and music master to Princess Maria Barbara the daughter of the King D. João V and the Queen of Spain, this portrait of Domenico Scarlatti is by the Spanish painter Domingos António Velasco. The artist depicts Scarlatti dressed in a ceremonial court vestment, adorned with the prestigious Order of St. James, a cognizance bestowed upon him one year previously by King D. João V, Grand-Master of the Order.

How date and origin were established:

Iconographic and stylistic analysis

How Object was obtained:

Bequeathed to Mariano Hernandez by José Relvas in Madrid in 1913. In his will, José Relvas donated the palace and collection to the Municipality of Alpiarça in order to create a museum.

Selected bibliography:

Teixeira, José de Monterroso, O Triunfo do Barroco, Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon, 1993 p.p.56/63,223/224

Citation of this web page:

Cristina Correia "Portrait of Domenico Scarlatti" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;BAR;pt;Mus11_A;8;en

Prepared by: Cristina CorreiaCristina Correia

SURNAME: Correia
NAME: Cristina

AFFILIATION: Eça de Queirós Public High School, Lisbon and MWNF

TITLE: Senior Teacher, Local Co-ordinator and Vice-President of MWNF

CV:
Cristina Correia is a History graduate and, since 1985, a Senior Teacher of History at the Eça de Queirós Public High School, Lisbon where she also lectures in Portuguese Language and Culture for non-native speakers. From 1987 to 1998 she was involved with youth affairs, primary prevention and the Camões Institute. She is Vice-President and Local Co-ordinator (Portugal) for MWNF.
Translation by: Manuel Silva Pereira
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: PT 11