1701
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Portrait of Francesca Gommi Maratti is a 1701 unspecified by Carlo Maratta, a Baroque work, depicting Catherine of Alexandria, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This is a portrait of a woman in a dark dress, holding a small drawing of Venus and Cupid. Her face is calm, her hair neatly pulled back. Carlo Maratti painted his wife, Francesca, after they finally married in 1700. The drawing she holds isn’t just decoration—it’s a nod to love and family, since Venus and Cupid symbolize romance and children. The painting feels personal, like a quiet celebration. To see more of Maratti’s work, look up The Cleveland Museum of Art.
In 1700 Carlo Maratti’s wife died, permitting him to marry his longtime mistress, Francesca Gommi, who began modeling for the artist in the 1670s and was the mother of his only child, Faustina. This painting was presumably painted shortly after the marriage as an homage from the artist to his new wife. To introduce an allegorical element into the composition, Maratti included a painting within a painting—in this case a drawing depicting Venus forging the love-darts of her adolescent son Cupid, suggesting that love will conquer all.
The sitter holds a drawing representing Venus making Cupid's weapons, symbolizing the power of love to conquer all.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Carlo Maratta or Maratti (18 May 1625 – 15 December 1713) was an Italian Baroque painter and draughtsman, active principally in Rome where he was the leading painter in the second half of the 17th century.
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