The Birthday
Antonio Mancini (1852 - 1930), Rome, 1885
oil on canvas, 87.7 cm x 115.5 cm
Credits: The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
Mesdag himself titled this painting The Birthday. It is not clear whether Mancini actually intended to portray a little boy celebrating his birthday surrounded by presents. The model is his nephew Telemaco Ruggeri, who often posed for his uncle.
Mesdag was Mancini’s benefactor. He organized solo exhibitions of his work: three in the Netherlands, and one travelling show in America. The two artists never met, maintaining contact exclusively through letters.
- Object number
- hwm0185
- Dimensions
- 87.7 cm x 115.5 cm, 122 cm x 150 cm, 15 cm
- Provenance
- Probably acquired from the artist by Hendrik Willem Mesdag, The Hague, in or before 1897; Collection Museum Mesdag donated by Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten to the State of the Netherlands, 14 May 1903; Rijksmuseum H.W. Mesdag, The Hague, from 1 August 1903; in trust of the Mauritshuis, The Hague, between 1934 and 1990; in trust of the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, from 1 April 1990; Museum Mesdag, in trust of the Van Gogh Museum Foundation, Amsterdam, from 1 July 1994, under the name of De Mesdag Collectie from 2011.
- artist
- Antonio Mancini
- Credits
- The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
The Hague, De Mesdag Collectie, Mancini. Eigenzinnig & Extravagant, 6 March-20 September 2020
Assen, Drents Museum, Sprezzatura: Vijftig jaar Italiaanse schilderkunst 1860-1910, 2 June-3 November 2019
Quarles van Ufford, Adrienne, Mesdag & Mancini, Amsterdam, 2020, p. 37, 39-40
Lindenhovius, Willemijn, Ginex, Giovanna, Bietoletti, Silvestra, Sprezzatura : vijftig jaar Italiaanse schilderkunst 1860-1910, Zwolle, 2019, p. 42-43, 155
Dijk, Maite van, Suijver, Renske, Fitski, M., Smits, C., De Mesdag Collectie, Amsterdam, 2011, p. 10-11, 33
Dijk, Maite van, Suijver, Renske, Fitski, M., Smits, C., The Mesdag Collection, Amsterdam, 2011, p. 10-11, 33
Bodt, Saskia de, Leeman, Fred, Leeuw, Ronald de, Pennock, Hanna, Museum Mesdag : catalogue of paintings and drawings, Zwolle, 1996, p. 264
Pennock, Hanna, Antonio Mancini en Nederland, Haarlem, 1987, p. 80
Dumas, Charles, Leeuw, Ronald de, Sillevis, John, De Haagse School : Hollandse meesters van de 19e eeuw, Den Haag ; Parijs ; Londen, 1983, p. 96