Lucrezia de' Medici (1545–1561)

ArtistAttributed to Alessandro Allori Italian, 1535–1607

Datecirca 1560

MediumOil on panel

Dimensions32 1/2 x 24 3/4 in. (82.6 x 62.9 cm)
Frame: 60 x 42 1/4 in. (152.4 x 107.3 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Mrs. George Khuner

Object numberG.64.35.4

On View

On view

Provenance[Possibly painted for Lucrezia’s brother, Francesco de’ Medici]; Collection Viscount Wimborne [Sir Ivor Churchill Guest (1873–1939), 2nd Baron Wimborne], Canford Magna, Wimborne; sale, Christie’s, London, March 9, 1923, lot 5 (as Bronzino; sold to Buttery) [3]; Collection Camillo Castiglioni, Vienna, until 1930; sale, Berlin, Ball & Graupe, November 28–29, 1930, lot 12 (p.16, pl. 7), sold to Drey [4]; with Drey Gallery, Munich, 1930 (as Bronzino, Portrait of Bianca Capello, 84 x 63 cm) [5], at least until 1933; Collection of George (1886–1952) [6] and Marianne Khuner (née Stern, 1890–1984) [7], Zurich and Beverly Hills, California; given to NCMA, 1964 (donor retained lifetime possession), arrived at NCMA, 1984.

[1] Awkward replica at Galeria Pitti, Florence, called Bronzino, Portrait of Lucrezia de’ Medici, daughter of Cosimo I.

[2] FARL photo mount [DMH, December 1940] notes, “the picture was evidently somewhat restored or repaired between the two sales [Wimbourne 1922 and Castiglione 1930], since the scaled-off edge is not longer shown in this latter reproduction [in London News November 15, 1930, p. 887].”

[3] According to the sale catalogue the collection was formed chiefly on the advice of Sir. Henry Layard.

[4] According to the notes on the FARL photo made by DMH, December 1940: “apparently Dr. Drey bought the picture at this [Castiglioni] sale, and rechristened it “Bianca Cappelo.” FARL photo mount (d) notes that the information re. Drey comes from the annotation on the back of the photograph received from London, May 1933.

[5] Photograph in GRI. Co-owners Paul. L. Drey, Franz Drey and Friedrich Stern had left Germany by the end of 1935, when the tax authorities of Munich started their deliberate action against the auction house Drey. Senior partner Siegfried Drey died in the arms of junior partner Ludwig Stern as they left the tax hearing. On June 17–18, 1936, the property of the firm A.S. Drey was sold in Berlin by Paul Graupe. The NCMA painting was not included in the sale. It may have been in London [see 1933 photo sent to FARL] and/or already sold, possibly to Khuner [see below].

[6] Khuner may have purchased the painting from Drey. His obituary in the LATimes on 24 August 1952 notes that George Khuner was the former chairman of the board of Lever Bros., Ltd., in Zurich and Paris. He was also onetime Consul General in Zurich. He may have been Jewish. The family requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Jewish Welfare Fund or to the Society of Friends.

[7] In the summer of 1953 [letter of agreement sent from Wm. T. Sesnon Jr., President of the Board of Governors, Los Angeles County Museum, August 19, 1953], Mrs. Khuner had made an agreement to donate to the Los Angeles County Museum “[her] residence at 836 Greenway Drive, Beverly Hills, and [her and her] late husband’s collections of paintings, etchings, works of art, antique furniture, antique silver, antique textiles and laces and the art library containing rare books and reference books, all now located a that residence….” The transfer of this promised gift from Los Angeles to Raleigh was presumably influenced by Wilhelm Valentiner’s move from Los Angeles to Raleigh in 1954.

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