Ignazio Manzoni (1797 - 1884) - Self-portrait

Self-Portrait by Ignazio Manzoni (Milan, 1799 – Clusone, 1888), oil on panel, 21.5 × 17 cm, in its period frame engraved “Manzoni Pintor.” On the reverse, the inscription reads: “Felice R Pineiro / Retrato del pintor Ignazio Manzoni hecho per el mismo,” attesting to the work’s Argentine destination. An absolute rarity: to date, this is the only known likeness of Manzoni by his own hand. A manifesto piece, it condenses a transatlantic career between Italy and Buenos Aires, where the artist was active in the mid-nineteenth century. Trained at Brera, Manzoni moves between Neoclassical inheritances and Purismo, while integrating Romantic dramatization and a physiognomic Realism favored by Rioplatense patrons. His Argentine corpus—divided between large history paintings and costumbrismo (genre scenes)—is represented today at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, a major landmark of the nation’s visual memory.
The panel support and the presentation with a nameplate cartouche anchor this portrait in a tradition of authoritative effigy: tightened handling, sober modeling, and a somber palette in the service of professional identity. The Spanish note turns the self-portrait into a letter of introduction, virtually a calling card, addressed to the South American market. By its rarity and documentary significance, this unique testimony illuminates the circulation of artists, styles, and images in the nineteenth century. For collectors and historians alike, it is a first-order document on the construction of artistic identities between Europe and the Americas.

A detailed catalogue entry is available on request.