'Il Suon, Lo Sguardo, Il Canto': The Function of Portraits of Mid-Seventeenth-Century Virtuose In Rome

Abstract

This article addresses the functions of female singers' portraits in seventeenth-century Rome. Situating these diverse images in contemporary views on portraiture, gender, social status, embodiment and selfhood will illuminate the different ways they were valued and utilized by both the singers and their patrons. A rich array of paintings alluding to female vocal performance hung in Roman palazzi, some idealized, and some recognized portraits. Such paintings did not merely represent musical culture, or function as reminders of patrons' wealth and prestige: they played an active role in the culture of singing. The similarity of the physical and emotional effects that vocal performances and portraits engendered in contemporaries enabled portraits to be used as surrogates for performances. As sites for a wide range of viewer fantasies they reveal different, often conflicting, images connected with virtuose, providing valuable information about the cultural value of these singers and the fashioning of their careers.