VENETIAN PAINTER OF THE 18TH CENTURY Portrait of the Infanta María Antonia Fernanda of Bourbon betrothed to Victor Amadeus III of Savoy Oil on canvas, 102X82.5 cm The painting, of fine quality and conservation, exhibits a remarkable aesthetic value and finds precise parallels with the Portrait of the Infanta María Antonia Fernanda of Bourbon painted by Jacopo Amigoni in 1750 on the occasion of her marriage to Victor Amadeus III of Savoy. We know of this effigy, in addition to the known example in the Prado Museum (oil on canvas, 103x84 cm; cf. A. Fernández, Ángel; Martínez Cuesta, Juan; Pérez Preciado, José Juan, Colecciones de pinturas de Felipe V e Isabel Farnesio. Inventarios Reales, II, Fundación de Apoyo de la Historia del Arte Hispánico, Madrid 2004, p. 352) three other autograph versions existed: one is the one painted between 21 February and 3 March 1750 and sent to the court in Turin, a second is recorded by the Turinese ambassador and sent by Farinelli to Pompeo Batoni, and the third appears in the catalogue of the Carderera collection in Madrid (1877); but it is certain that of these the only one whose current location is known is the one in Amposta's private collection in Tarragona (A. Scarpa 1994, pp. 156-157, no. 44). Compared to the Madrid canvas, in our case the image is distinguished by the flower vase in the foreground with the effigy wearing a yellow robe against a background of brown tones. In both cases, however, it is possible to perceive a quality of execution that does not contradict the painter's reputation as a skilful portraitist, as well as a creator of refined mythological tales realised with an evanescent chromatic looseness and an enchanting hedonistic preciosity. Reference bibliography: A. Scarpa Sonnino, Jacopo Amigoni, Soncino 1994, pp. 156-157, no. 44