Oil on canvas, portrait of a young diplomat by Agostino Gaetano Ugolini (1755-1824).
This oval portrait depicts a young aristocrat and his dog. To the right of the composition, carefully integrated details enrich the work: a shelf with bound books, a spherical model, an old map and a letter. On the latter, a precise inscription allows the subject to be identified: “All’ Illustrissimo Signor”, followed by “Il Nobile Signore Gio Giacomo Marastoni”. The date 1788, written in Roman numerals (MDCCLXXXVIII), testifies to its historical context.
The map TEATRO DELLA GUERRA PRESENTE TRA LA RUSSIA E LA PORTA OTTOMANA published in Venice around 1788 is the work of Antonio Zatta (FL.1757 – April 2, 1797) Venetian cartographer. It is a large map of the Black Sea and the ancient countries, with a map of the insertion of the north-eastern part of Moldavia (Bukovina) and the military camps, fortified cities and castles. This map was created to illustrate the war between the Russians and the Ottomans (1768-1774), a consequence of the Russian advance in Poland, in which the Russians won victories. The Russo-Turkish War of 1768 was the beginning of a considerable expansion of the Russian Empire from the Balkans to the shores of the Black Sea, thus changing the geopolitical balance of the Eastern Mediterranean in the 18th century. On the international level, this Russo-Turkish war had a strong impact. Because it was in the name of Antiquity, Greek certainly, but also Byzantine and Christian that Catherine claimed to lead her fight against the Ottoman Empire.
In our portrait there are many elements that refer to Greek Antiquity: the name of Euclid on one of the books on the shelf, the Ptolemaic terrestrial sphere created by Ptolemy to whom we generally attribute the birth of scientific cartography. As for the braid of hair in the young man’s hand, it is probably Berenice’s braid. In ancient Greece, hair often represents a positive symbol of strength, beauty and freedom. The gift of a lock of hair was also the most precious of offerings. Thus, during the year 243 BC Queen Berenice II of Egypt promises her hair to the goddess Aphrodite to guarantee the life and return of her husband Pharaoh Ptolemy III Euergetes, belonging to the Ptolemaic dynasty. The Ptolemies were not Egyptian, but Greek. They reigned in Egypt for 3 centuries and the last queen was Cleopatra.
Euergetes returned triumphant, but Berenice’s hair, which had remained in the temple, was stolen by a priest angry that the offering had been made to a Greek goddess. Conon, the court astronomer known for his friendship with Archimedes of Syracuse, intervened to resolve the incident and declared that Aphrodite had accepted the offering and taken the hair to the sky, thus forming the constellation that shines at the North Galactic Pole. Indeed, her lock of hair (Coma Berenices) is one of the canonical constellations, and the only one named after a human being.
This is a portrait of a Venetian diplomat.
Since the end of the Middle Ages, the history of Europe seems essentially marked by war. Peace always appears precarious. This presence of war leads to two parallel developments. On the one hand, a geopolitical organization is constructed in multiple States, each defending its “sovereign” independence and developing a foreign policy. This is the “Westphalian system” that Europe imposed on the world and which still forms the framework of international relations today. On the other hand, sophisticated methods of dialogue are developed, combining three major concerns: representation, information and negotiation. This is what we call “diplomacy”: the work of “diplomats”, but these notions only became established very late, at the end of the 18th century, to designate this art of peace and these men of dialogue. Although negotiation practices and the aspiration for peace date back to Antiquity, the word “diplomacy” only appeared in its modern sense at the end of the 18th century.
In the 18th century, the figure of the ambassador finally established itself as a true social model: his work was certainly crucial for maintaining peace in Europe, but his lifestyle also embodied the values that fascinated the society of the Enlightenment. It combined mastery of language and body, politeness and the pomp of the courts, cosmopolitanism and a taste for travel. The attributes represented refer rather to this kind of activity: cartography, astronomy, political philosophy with works by Euclid, Petrarch. And Montesquieu, whose reading strongly inspired Catherine II’s desire to integrate Russia into Europe, as Peter the Great wanted. And the fourth name is that of Claude-François-Xavier Millot (1726-1785) a French man of the Church, of letters and historian, but also chaplain to the King of Poland (1765-1766), Stanislas II who was a former lover of Catherine II and whom she installed on the throne. In 1768, Millot was called to the Duchy of Parma “to contribute, through his work, to the establishment of a kind of military school for the education of the nobility”.
Most European diplomats demonstrate an encyclopedic and scientific mind and as such participate in the circulation of ideas in Europe. They belong to the great aristocratic families.
Correspondence is at the heart of their activity, they are first and foremost informants and, only secondarily, negotiators, which is why a letter is represented on the shelf among the books. All news was transmitted through two types of documents: the dispacci (“dispatches”) and the relazioni (“reports”). The title of Nobile (“Noble”) which is written on the letter was rather given to the Venetian patrician sent to Saint Petersburg and to those who carried out missions abroad as plenipotentiary ministers.
About the painter Agostino Gaetano Ugolini (1755-1824)
his professional fortune is closely linked to the place where he lived and worked: Verona (Republic of Venice), and where he was able to easily come into contact with the most influential prelates.
Width: 73 cm.
Height: 94 cm.
