Portrait of Faustina Bordini

Bartolomeo Nazari (1699 - 1758)

Handel House Museum

circa 1730

George Frederic Handel recruited the Venetian mezzo-soprano Faustina (as she was known) to sing in the 1726-1728 opera seasons. She made her London debut as Roxana in Handel's 'Alessandro'. While in London, Faustina was drawn into rivalries with other Italian singers in Handel's employ, even exchanging blows on stage with the soprano Francesca Cuzzoni.

• Medium: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 134 x 106 cm
• Art Fund Grant: £8000 ( Total: £42,500)
• ArtFunded in: 1996
• Vendor: Chaucer Fine Arts

Provenance

Probably commissioned by Field Marshal Count Johann Mathias von der Schulenberg (Berlin inventory c.1750, no. 246); by descent; Sotheby's 23/6/82, no.69; Chaucer Fine Arts Ltd.

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