Artwork Page for Portrait of a Woman

Details / Information for Portrait of a Woman

Portrait of a Woman

c. 1550

Agnolo Bronzino

(Italian, 1503–1572)
Culture
Italy, Florence, 16th century
Medium
oil on wood
Measurements
Framed: 81.6 x 68.5 x 6.7 cm (32 1/8 x 26 15/16 x 2 5/8 in.); Unframed: 60 x 48.8 cm (23 5/8 x 19 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1972.121
Public Domain
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Location
003 Special Exhibition Hall
Print

Description

Bronzino was court painter to Cosimo I de’Medici, the Duke of Florence. Though the woman cannot be definitively identified, she was likely affiliated with the Medici court. As in most of the portraits in this gallery, Bronzino emphasizes wealth, status, and courtly refinement above personality or individualized expression. The plain background further accentuates the work’s monumentality and grandeur, despite its small scale. The hand placed against the chest with elegantly spread fingers extends back to an ancient Greek pose of modesty, here emphasizing the proper comportment of a woman of high status. The sitter wears a linen partlet (collar) delicately embroidered in matt stitch, part of which is, like her cuffs, trimmed in fine lace.
Vertically oriented oil portrait with a smooth finish depicting a woman with light skin tone from the shoulders up, her right hand placed against her chest. Turned slightly to our left, she looks at us, blond hair pulled back with a finely patterned, gold band. The woman wears a black gown, her sleeve and square collar trimmed with white lace with geometric patterns. A gold band and gold chain wrap around her neck.

Portrait of a Woman

c. 1550

Agnolo Bronzino

(Italian, 1503–1572)
Italy, Florence, 16th century

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