Art Museum Journal

Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara by Dosso Dossi
By STAN PARCHIN
February 9, 2010

 
An art history mystery was solved when the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne, Australia announced on November 28, 2008 that Portrait of a Youth (ca. 1520) by an unidentified artist from Emilia-Romagna, a painting in its possession since 1965, is actually Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara (ca. 1518) by northern Italian Renaissance master Dosso Dossi (ca. 1486-1542). After extensive conservation and research, the startling revelation makes the oval composition probably the only formal painted portrait of the often vilified daughter of the controversial Pope Alexander VI Borgia (r. 1492-1503) in existence.
 
Lucrezia Borgia
One of the most famous women of the Italian Renaissance, Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519) was the illegitimate daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (1431-1503) and Vannozza dei Cattanei (1442-1518), one of the cleric's mistresses. After her arranged marriages to Giovanni Sforza (1466-1510), Lord of Pesaro and Alfonso of Aragon (1481-1500), Duke of Bisceglie, Lucrezia was wed to Alfonso d'Este (1476-1534), Duke of Ferrara, in part to flee from her family's political scheming that had tainted her reputation. At the same time, the unfaithful Lucrezia enjoyed a relationship with Francesco II Gonzaga (1466-1510), her bisexual syphilitic brother-in-law, and a love affair with the Venetian scholar and poet Pietro Bembo (1470-1547).
 
In actuality, very little is known about the historical Lucrezia Borgia and her involvement in the ruthless affairs of state conducted by her nepotistic father Rodrigo and brother Cesare (1475-1507). She was described as having long blonde hair, a fair complexion and a graceful walk.
 
The Portrait
The NGV's portrait of Lucrezia Borgia was always thought to be that of a young male youth. Several years of intense investigation determined in 2004 that the painting was always oval in shape and that its botanical landscape is original. Conservator Carl Villis' years of study confirmed that the work was executed by the Ferrarese painter Dosso Dossi at the Este court, where Lucrezia lived and served as an able administrator. Identification of the artist was achieved by the discovery of the work's unusual priming or imprimatura layer exclusive to Dossi. The presence of powdered shell gold in the rare early 16th-century female portrait's inscription and on a weapon is also a characteristic of Ferrarese painting.

 
Lucrezia Borgia's hands hold a dagger. The instrument is a reference to Lucretia, the 6th-century B.C. heroine of Rome who committed suicide following her rape to preserve her family's honor. Behind the subject are a myrtle bush and flowers, symbols of the Roman goddess Venus and feminine beauty. The painting's Latin inscription refers to the sitter's virtue and lovely countenance. The dagger and myrtle bush also symbolize Lucrezia's Christian and family names. The Borgias adopted Venus as their emblem.
 
Carl Villis said, "Generations of art historians have attempted to identify portraits of Lucrezia Borgia, but this appears to be the only one which contains direct personal references to this intriguing historical figure. The only reliable likeness of her features we have is on a portrait medal in bronze made in 1502. The facial profile on the medal bears a striking resemblance to our portrait."
 
Source
Bayer, Andrea (ed.), et al. Dosso Dossi: Court Painter in Renaissance Ferrara (exh. cat.). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998.