Cassandra Luci Princess Poniatowski

Lorenzo Bartolini 1826

The portrait bust of Cassandra Luci, a personage of notable acquaintances, including Gioacchino Rossini, was made by Bartolini in 1826 together with that of her companion, the Prince of Poland Stanislaus Poniatowski. For the latter, he also drew up the design for the funeral monument in the church of San Marco in Florence.

Technical information

Author: Lorenzo Bartolini
Title: Cassandra Luci Princess Poniatowski
Date: 1826
Material and technique: Plaster
Size: h 68 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
Third Floor

Cassandra Luci was originally married to Vincenzo Venturini Benloch. She would later become consort of Prince Poniatowski, by whom she had five children, who tried in vain to obtain an annulment of her first marriage from the Sacra Rota. Due to the scandal caused by their relationship, the couple moved from Rome to Florence in 1822, taking up residence in Palazzo Capponi in Via Larga, today's Via Cavour, where they both amassed a large collection of antique objects. Stanislao was in fact a great patron of the arts and a distinguished collector.
In the portrait of Princess Poniatowski, the particular and elaborate hairstyle catches the eye, fashionable at the time and inspired by the hairstyle of the famous Belgian opera singer of Spanish origin, Maria Malibran.
The stains on the mouth and hair are traces of the release agent of an oily nature used by the artist when making the cast. On one side there is the inscription: “BARTOLINI 7 MAGGIO 1826”. (BARTOLINI 7 MAY 1826).