Offered by Antichità di Alina
Portrait of a Young Girl from the Whitaker Family with a King Charles Spaniel – Giuseppe Patania, 1845.
Date: 1845, Romantic style, 19th century
Signed: Lower right, Giuseppe Patania (1798-1852, Palermo – Palermo)
School: Italian, 19th century
Frame: Gilded wood, Empire style, original to the piece
Technique: Oil on canvas
Dimensions with frame: W 118 cm x H 91 cm
Dimensions without frame: H 77 cm x W 105 cm
Giuseppe Patania, a renowned Sicilian portraitist, was highly regarded by the bourgeois and aristocratic families of Palermo. His portraits, particularly of children, blend delicate naturalism with a perceptible sensitivity in the choice of details and expressions. This painting is a prime example of his approach, depicting a young girl alongside a King Charles Spaniel, a symbol of affection and loyalty, which adds a warm and intimate touch to the composition.
The scene unfolds within a natural setting, likely the Gulf of Palermo, featuring a promontory and a distant village. These elements may refer to the familiar lands and locations of the patrons, the Whitaker family, influential English entrepreneurs who settled in Sicily in the 19th century. Their involvement in the Marsala wine trade established them as prominent figures within both Sicilian and English society, and they became respected patrons of the arts.
The young girl, identified as a member of the Whitaker family, embodies the connections between the Anglo-Sicilian aristocracy and the upper class of the era.
The Whitakers, through their presence and support for Sicilian culture, left a lasting legacy in the region, preserved today by the Whitaker Foundation, which manages iconic sites like Villa Malfitano and the island of Mozia.
This portrait of the young girl, with its period gilded frame and romantic elegance, reflects the prestige and refinement of the Whitakers while capturing the Sicilian taste for exoticism and the cultural richness of the Romantic period.
