Portrait of French Countess Heads for Minneapolis [audio 3min]

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) has acquired a rare, and even more rarely seen, oil painting from the mid-18th century. The rococo portrait of Comtesse d'Egmont Pignatelli was completed in 1763 by Swedish-born painter Alexander Roslin. It is now on view at the institute's recently renovated galleries. Curator Patrick Noon talks about the significance of the acquisition, considered one of the masterpieces of 18th-century French portraiture. The painting has been on public view only four times in the last 250 years; the MIA acquired the painting from New York's Wildenstein & Co. Noon says the painting has already been requested for several exhibitions, including a major Roslin retrospective in Stockholm. ~Website includes image of Roslin's portrait of Comtesse d'Egmont Pignatelli.