4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2009.

Memorial to James, First Earl of Stanhope

Artist Giovanni Battista Pittoni (Italian, 1687-1767)

Date1726

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 87 x 56 in. (221 x 142.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 112 x 73 1/4 in. (284.5 x 186.1 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.546

Terms

Allegory
History
Light green
Yellow
Blue
White
Pink
Orange
Gray
Black
Venetian rococo

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. Roman triumphal arch with people congregating below. The two central figures are at the lower left, in front of the bright yellow fabric. The woman represents victory, and the male is the allegorical embodiment of the decreased hero, Stanhope.

Label TextGiovanni Battista Pittoni Italian, 1687–1767 Memorial to James, First Earl Stanhope, 1726 Oil on canvas Think of this triumphal arch as a gigantic military uniform, its jacket trimmed with medals extolling the exploits and virtues of its hero. The hero is James, First Earl Stanhope, who served England both as the army’s commander-in-chief and as secretary of state. The figures—both sculptural and living—symbolize aspects of Stanhope’s character. For example, the sculptures crowning the columns embody the hero’s “Virtuous Actions” (at left) and “Honor” (at right), while the seated female figure at its base embodies his life of “Victory.” Such complex symbolic images, called allegories, were a staple of art in the 1700s. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.546