King Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy (Turin 1666-1732), Maria Giovanna Clementi (Tornino 1692-1761)

Maria Giovanna Battista Clementi known as La Clementina (Turin, 1692 – Turin, 1761), Attributable to
Portrait of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy (Turin 1666 – Moncalieri 1732) king of Sardinia, duke of Savoy, marquis of Saluzzo and duke of Monferrato, prince of Piedmont and count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice from 1675 to 1720.

Oil on oval canvas, 79 x 62 cm., in frame 98 x 82 cm.

The subject of this fascinating virile portrait is King Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, portrayed in ceremonial armor and a red cloak according to the traditional courtly iconography, represented in a half-length portrait of a slight three-quarter length, with the towering "courtesan" wig, according the dictates of fashion of the first decades of the century, of French inspiration.
In order to represent the power embodied in our austere effigy, the sovereign is immortalized with the symbolic attributes of the power of the house, identifiable in the ancient crown of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in the scepter with the Mauritian cross and in the necklace of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunziata, established in 1364 by Amedeo VI, as the highest honor of the House of Savoy.
A very interesting detail is the inscription, on the necklace, of the Savoy motto 'FERT', with a meaning that is still controversial today: according to the official interpretation, it is the acronym of "Fodere Et Religione Tenimur" which for the commitment of the Savoys in spread the Christian faith, and again "Fortitudo Ejus Rhodum Tenuit", which would allude to the participation of the Savoys in the Crusades, "Fides Est Regni Tutela" (faith is the protector of the Kingdom), even if the most imaginative and ironic was 'Fomina Erit Ruina Tua'' (the woman will be your ruin).
Dating back to the end of the 17th century, it is historically and culturally to be placed in the profitable production of the workshops active for the House of Savoy.
The good workmanship and the pictorial quality suggest that the painting belongs to the field of official portraitists of the court, in particular to Maria Giovanna Clementi, known as la Clementina. The stylistic data of the painting confirm the Franco-Framean orientation of court portraiture, linked to Clementina and her circle.
Cycles dedicated to the dukes of Savoy, and then kings of Sardinia, and possibly to their consorts, were widespread not only in the royal residences, but also in the homes of the court nobility as a clear sign of loyalty to the sovereign dynasty.
STORAGE:
The work is presented in a good state of conservation, with scattered old retouches. The painting is completed by a pleasant gilded wooden frame, not contemporary.

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