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Painting 1992.100.2
Othello and Desdemona
Painting 1992.100.2

Othello and Desdemona

Date1804
Artist Michele Felice Cornè (ca. 1752-1845)
OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Salem
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions27 1/4" x 22 1/4" unframed.
Credit LineBequest of David Rockefeller
Object number1992.100.2
Label TextFor a long time this painting was believed to portray a scene from Shakespeare's Othello. In 2020, however, a print was discovered in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, which relates to this piece. While it is currently undetermined if the print inspired the painting or vice versa; they are identical in composition. The print is entitled "Come La Trovate ['How do you find her]" and is thought by the Museum to show a black eunuch presenting an enslaved girl to his master's inspection. The print was drawn by Louis Sicard, a Frenchman, published by Gaetano Lancon, and was printed in Italian around 1800-1805.
InscribedInscribed at lower left is "M. Corne p. 1804".
ProvenanceKatrina Kipper, Accord, Mass.; Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, New York, NY; Mr. and Mrs. David Rockefeller. In 1992, the last named gave one tenth interest in the painting to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.