153 · 70 · Rosalba Carriera Princess Benedetta Ernestina Maria of Modena 1723 Pastel on paper, 55.5 × 42.5 cm Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, gal. no. P 3 Possibly acquired from estate of Empress Wilhelmine Amalie after 1742 Fixed to backing board: Three Kings token (type 1bw t) · 71 · Rosalba Carriera Princess Anna Amalia Giuseppa of Modena 1723 Pastel on paper, 53 × 41 cm Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, gal. no. P 18 Possibly acquired from estate of Empress Wilhelmine Amalie after 1742 · 72 · Rosalba Carriera Princess Enrichetta Anna Sofia of Modena 1723 Pastel on paper, 53 × 41 cm Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, gal. no. P 17 Possibly acquired from estate of Empress Wilhelmine Amalie after 1742 Duke Rinaldo d’Este invited Rosalba Carriera to Modena in 1723. He had been an admirer of her work since an earlier meeting with the artist and commissioned her to paint portraits of several members of the Este family, among them his three daughters. The half-length portraits of the three princesses, Benedetta Ernestina Maria, Anna Amalia Giuseppa, and Enrichetta Anna Sofia, show them striking very similar poses and looking directly at the viewer. There is a family resemblance, but beyond that there is also a shared style of pastel-hued gowns embellished with flower arrangements and lace and heavily powdered coiffures enlivened with small floral ornaments. The creamy necks and décolletages stand out against the dark background. The three portraits shown here, which may have come to Dresden from the estate of Empress Wilhelmine Amalie, are not the only ones Carriera made during her stay in Modena. Multiple versions were painted, and the Duke of Modena sent them to the leading European courts to present his daughters in the hope of marrying them off advantageously. This goal was achieved only for Enrichetta, who married the Duke of Parma, Antonio Farnese, in 1728. Although Carriera praised the great hospitality of the Duke of Modena in her letters to her sister Angela, she seems not to have particularly enjoyed her stay in the city. She cut it short and returned to her native Venice after nearly five months. RS Literature: Inventory of estate of Wilhelmine Amalie 1742, pp. 29f.; Riedel, Wenzel 1765, p. 240; Woermann 1887, pp. 760, 762; Hoerschelmann 1908, pp. 196–202; Sani 1988, pp. 296f., nos. 151, 153, 156; Sani 2007, pp. 174– 176, 178f., nos. 170, 172, 175; exh. cat. Dresden 2018, pp. 222–224; Oberer 2020, pp. 249–251; Jeffares online edition, J.21.0195, J.21.0266, J.21.0486. · 70 ·
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