Back in 2014 I was asked to write an article for the Festschrift dedicated to Prof. Ton Koopman for his 70th birthday (ed. Albert Clement, Studies in Baroque, Butz Verlag 2014).
I wrote a piece on one etching in his collection (TK01747), that I argue is a portrait of Francesco Saverio Geminiani (1687-1742), Italian born composer who settled in London and Ireland, but who gained international recognition for his compositions. The portrait is clearly charged, charicaturized, a characteristic that implied a close contact between the draftsman and the composer. The original drawing is by Edme Bouchardon (1698-1762) best known for his sculptures, and it was turned into print by Le Comte de Caylus (1692-1765).
A couple of years later, both in Paris and Los Angeles, was organizes an exhibition focusing on the French sculptor as there was no existing – much deserved – research on his oeuvre. A copy of the same etching finally appeared (it was unpublished before my article) and, despite the curator was not aware of my publication, he came to the same conclusion. that the portrayed is, indeed, Geminiani. (Bouchardon: Royal Artist of the Enlightenment, p. 165)
Anna Bianco 