Convent Scene

Teodolinda Migliara, daughter of the famous Giovanni Migliara, was a painter specializing in urban perspectives and interiors of sacred buildings, mostly in Milan, often in a reduced format but rich in detail. Another version of the same subject, slightly larger in size, is held at the Biblioteca Reale in Torino under the title “La Lavallière nel convento di Challot” (1). A preparatory study of the cloister, executed by Giovanni Migliara and now preserved in the Pinacoteca Civica in Alessandria, is also extant (2). Furthermore, a fixé sous verre on silk of the same subject, dated 1843 and signed by Teodolinda, titled “Madame La Vallière nel monastero,” is also known (3). It is likely that the subject was part of a series dedicated to the love story between Louis XIV and Madame de La Vallière, also considering that Giovanni Migliara produced additional scenes featuring the same characters, of which several studies survive (4).