MARTINI (19th Century)
Portrait of Man with a Neapolitan Fisherman's Cap
black chalk. stumping. 15 3/4 x 11 3/4" (400 x 300mm). signed.
Provenance: Genoese collector of the late 19th & early 20th c., by descent to his granddaughter Anna Rosa Mignone, Siena
I have not been able to identify an artist of the mid 19th c. by this name, nor by the name of Mantini. But the view of the sitter, cut off mid-calf, along with the direct gaze and informality of dress, is found in portraiture from the late 1820's though mid century and likely a bit after that. See Ingres portrait of his fellow artist Henri Lehman, drawn in 1850, and recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum.
In the 19th century, there was a renewed interest in the Neapolitan fisherman Masinello, who led a revolt against the Spanish throne in Naples in 1657. The fisherman and the townspeople found taxes on fish and flour too high and they sought a role along with the aristocracy in government. Masinello's revolution was successful. The Risorgimento of 1861 united Italy and newly anointed patriots, perhaps the present sitter, were the new heroes. As the sitter leans forward, his eyes engage us by their direct stare. Though he is still youthful, his girth likely requires the additional support of a cane. But by balancing himself a bit on it, his hands are on view and allow us to infer he does not work with them. He does not work as a fisherman either as his clothing reveals. So that cap must be symbolic.