Collection of Cardinal Joseph Fesch [1763-1839], Rome (;); Palazzo Ricci, Rome, 17 March 1845 (;); collection of Sir K. Darcy (;); collection of Henry Solomon Wellcome by 1913 (;). Principal Exhibitions XVIIth International Congress of Medicine, London, 1913, cat. no. 175, as Birth of Adonis by 'Feti, 1584-1624' (;). Publications Catalogue des tableaux composant la galerie de feu son eminence le Cardinal Fesch, Rome, 1841, no. 2496, p. 103, 4 pieds 1 pouces x 5 pieds 8 pouces, as La Naissance d'Adonis, 'Les figures sont de petites proportion' (;); Catalogue des tableaux composant la galerie de feu son eminence le Cardinal Fesch, Rome, 1841, no. 2958, p. 118, 1 pieds x 2 pieds, as La Naissance d'Adonis, 'esquisse appartenante à l'école vénitienne' (;); Palazzo Ricci, Rome, 17 March 1845 (;); XVIIth International Congress of Medicine: Handbook of the Historical Medical Museum Organized by Henry S. Wellcome (the Museum of the Section of the History of Medicine), London, 1913, cat. no. 175, p. 79 as Birth of Adonis by 'Feti, 1584-1624' (;). Notes This work has the name 'Cardinal Fesch' written on the canvas. This was Napoleon's uncle. There is an article on Fesch's collection (see J. B. Vanel, ‘Deux livres de comptes du cardinal Fesch', Bulletin historique du diocèse de Lyon, January 1929, p. 76, no. 1). Cardinal Fesch was exiled from Paris in 1815. In the 1845 sale catalogue, paintings brought to Rome at that time are marked with an asterisk. If not marked it indicates that the painting was among those acquired by the cardinal after 1815. There is a posthumous catalogue, Catalogue des tableaux composant la galerie de feu s.e. le Cardinal Fesch, Rome, 1841, a copy of which is at the Getty and the British Library. This shows that there are two paintings with this title in his collection and they are as follows: a) Item 298, Pittura 91083, Birth of Adonis, the tree splits open to release the baby; the Naiads take care of him - Ref. f.118 2958 La Naissance d'Adonis; esquisse appartenante à l'école vénitienne; b) Pittura 90621, Ref f.103 2496 La Naissance d'Adonis; les figures sont de petites proportion. It can only be the former of the two works if one takes the sizes into account. These works could not be found in any of the volumes of the March 1845 sales. This work was not included in the following sales: 17 June 1816, Paris, Catalogue de tableaux des trois écoles; Catalogue des Tableaux composant de feu son éminence le Cardinal Fesch, George, Paris, 1843; Vented de Tableaux provenant du Cardinal Fesch, 17-18 February 1840, Forster, London, 24 July 1844.

• Library reference: ICV No 17583
• Photo number: V0017239
• Full Bibliographic Record: http://catalogue.wellcomelibrary.org/record=b1202499

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• Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0017239.html
• Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-03): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/su2uyw7u CC-BY-4.0