The preservation treatment of Allegory of Spring and Madonna in Prayer pastels by Rosalba Carriera and Portrait of Marco Balbi by Marianna Carlevarijs has been sponsored by The Diane Apostolos-Cappadona Trust in Memory of Her Mother, Stacia Apostolos. 

The preservation treatment of Lucietta Pellegrini Sartori, Suor Maria Caterina Puppi, and Faustina Bordoni Hasse by Rosalba Carriera has been sponsored by Susan Angelastro in Memory of Her Sister, Amy Angelastro.

The preservation treatment of Blessing Christ, Giambattista Sartori, Gentleman in Red, and Frate Cappuccino by Rosalba Carriera and Portrait of Caterina Balbi, Portrait of Gerolamo Maria Balbi, and Portrait of Cornelia Foscolo Balbi has been sponsored by Alan Bentz and Sallymoon Benz. 

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757) specialized in miniatures on ivory and pastel portraits, an area where her male counterparts ventured less. As one of Europe’s most celebrated painters in the 18th century, Rosalba traveled to Paris and Austria to fulfill her clients’ wishes, but Venice remained her home, where she ran a successful business with the help of her sisters and taught numerous pupils. Not only did patrons flock to her studio in Venice to commission portraits, but Carriera also had many royal patrons including King Louis XV, Holy Royal Emperor Charles VI, and Augustus III of Poland, her greatest patron of all who collected more than 150 of her pastels and sat for her in 1713. Rosalba’s published diaries attest to her activities and provide details of her artistic process. 

Marianna Carlevarijs (1703-1750) was the daughter of the famed landscape painter and engraver Luca Carlevarijs, who Marianna assisted in his workshop until his death in 1730. She was a student of Rosalba Carriera, along with Felicita Sartori, Angioletta Sartori, and Catherine Read. Some of Rosalba’s pastel portraits have been reattributed to Marianna, as the pupil’s pastel style closely imitates that of her teacher.

Each pastel in the Ca’ Rezzonico Museum in Venice was carefully examined and subject to preservation treatment, including the maintenance of the frames, backings, mattes, and glass. A detailed photographic campaign documented each phase of treatment, and the pastels were remounted with acid-free materials and techniques to guarantee the safety of the works for the future.

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Allegory of Spring
Early 18th-Century, pastel on paper
580 x 455 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Marianna Carlevarijs (1703-1750)
Portrait of Girolamo Maria Balbi
1735-1740, pastel on paper
600 x 480 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Suor Maria Caterina Puppi
1732, pastel on paper
440 x 350 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Marianna Carlevarijs (1703 – 1750)
Portrait of Caterina Balbi
1750, pastel on paper
470 x 380 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Madonna in Prayer
1725-1730, pastel on paper
580 x 480 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Portrait of Faustina Bordoni Hasse
1731-1740, pastel on paper
470 x 250 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Portrait of Lucietta Pellegrini Sartori
c. 1750, pastel on paper
320 x 280 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Portrait of Giambattista Sartori
1737, pastel on paper
340 x 300 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Portrait of a Gentleman in Red
1730, pastel on paper
670 x 510 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Blessing Christ
Early 18th-Century, pastel on paper
585 x 470 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757)
Frate Cappuccino
Early 18th-Century, pastel on paper
480 x 380 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Marianna Carlevarijs (1703-1750)
Portrait of Marco Balbi
1750, pastel on paper
470 x 380 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice

Marianna Carlevarijs (1703-1750)
Portrait of Cornelia Foscolo Balbi 
1737, pastel on paper
600 x 480 mm
Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Venice