Teresa Muratori Moneta

Among these works is a depiction of the Madonna and Child by Italian artist Maria Teresa Muratori Moneta (née Angela Teresa Muratori), possibly one of the rarest women artists on the market today. Muratori belongs to a remarkable lineage of female painters from Bologna-alongside such celebrated names as Lavinia Fontana, Elisabetta Sirani, and Properzia de' Rossi. Muratori also holds the rare distinction of being the only known woman in early modern Italy securely credited with a fresco.

The daughter of a renowned scholar who taught philosophy and law at the University of Bologna, Muratori was active in a milieu steeped in both academic and artistic culture. She is noted by art historians as being associated with the Bolognese painters Emilio Taruffi, Lorenzo Pasinelli, and Gian Gioseffo del Sole.

In the present work, the near-silvered tones in the hair of the Christ Child and in the crystalline light caressing the flesh of both Madonna and Child reflect the stylistic influence of her mentor, Gian Gioseffo del Sole. At the same time, the painting's quiet intimacy, enhanced by the Christ Child's direct gaze toward the viewer, reveals a deeply personal vision that is unmistakably Muratori's own.

Maria Cosway

We also have this romantic painting by Maria Cosway (1760-1838) of Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (1768-1821), consort of George, Prince of Wales (later George IV, 1762-1830), with her daughter, Princess Charlotte Augusta (1796-1817). The portrait shows Caroline leaning against a statue of Britannia seated in profile, and Charlotte sitting on a lion couchant, which rests at Britannia's feet; St. Paul's Cathedral, London is in the background. The original giltwood frame is surmounted by the Prince of Wales's crest of the three ostrich feathers. By repute, it was a Royal gift from Princess Caroline to Catherine Anne Douglas, Lady Glenbervie (1760-1817), who was her Mistress of the Robes from 1809-20. The choice of Maria Cosway as artist was undoubtedly due to the close friendship that existed between Maria and her husband Richard, a leading portrait painter of the Regency period, with the Prince. 

The heads were purportedly later touched and altered by Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1801. That the Princess might ask Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) to re-touch the faces of this painting because she was unhappy with the original is feasible. Lawrence was the most celebrated portraitist of his age, and patronised by international statesmen and society figures as well as royalty and military leaders. He was a favourite of the Princess, painting her at least three times, including another painting of her and her daughter (1801-2), which survives in the Royal Collection.

Anne-Marie-Joseph Archinard

From the French Revolutionary painter Anne-Marie-Joseph Archinard, we have a striking self portrait. This was drawn by Archinard when she was just eighteen, and is the artist's only known extant work. The inscription 'L'an 3 de la R.L' dates the work from sometime between 22 September 1794 - 22 September 1795 (being the third year of the Republic) and we know from letters written between the artist and Mlle de Saussure that Archinard was an ardent revolutionary. In 1806, she married Louis-Jean-Baptiste Gouvion, a distinguished Revolutionary and Napoleonic general twenty-five years her senior.

View page turning catalogue

Auction Details

Tuesday 4 November 2025, 10.30am GMT
Dreweatts, Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE, UK

Bidding is available in person at our salerooms, online, by telephone or you can leave commission (absentee) bids.

Browse the auction
Sign up to email alerts

Viewing in London (Highlights):
Dreweatts, 16-17 Pall Mall, St James’s, London SW1Y 5LU
Friday 17 - Wednesday 22 October (no weekend viewing)

Viewing in Newbury (Full sale):
Dreweatts, Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE, UK
Saturday 1 - Monday 3 November

Further information:
General enquiries: + 44 (0) 1635 553 553 | pictures@dreweatts.com
Press enquiries: press@dreweatts.com