Rich, married, 38 year old seeks mature, good looking male into art! For some eye witnesses, Luisa Casati was just a spoilt aristocrat who scandalized Europe over a 30 year period and then died destitute. For others, she was an inspired muse and serious patron of the arts.

Born in Milan in 1881, Casati was one of Italy’s great heiresses. From a respectable upper class childhood she emerged sporting wild make-up and hair with a menagerie of monkeys, peacocks and cheetahs in tow.

Painted and photographed hundreds of times, here she gazes seductively at her lover, the handsome, bohemian artist Augustus John.

Augustus Edwin John (British, 1878-1961)
The Marchesa Casati
1919
oil on canvas
96.5 x 68.6cm
Art Gallery of Ontario
© 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario

We’re beginning a new feature called David’s Notes. Once a week, David will post an interesting tidbit or give you the inside scoop on the art and goings-on at the AGO. Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think.

So who is David?

David Wistow is an Interpretive Planner at the AGO. He is the author of several books, including Meet the Group of Seven, Landscapes of the Mind: Images of Ontario, and The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, as well as a contributor to several AGO catalogues. His tenacity and mellifluous baritone voice are famed at the Gallery. No stranger to collecting, his selection of more than 200 vintage ties outshines any hipster. His favourite works from the AGO collection include Franz Hals’ Isaak Abrahamsz Massa and Augustus John’s Portrait of scandalous arts patron The Marchesa Casati.