The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

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
oil on wood
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.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1972.121
Location: 003 Special Exhibition Hall

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.
  • Stadelscher Museums-Verein, Frankfurt, in 1882;
    Freifau Mumm von Schwarzenstein, Frankfurt;
    Baron Max von Grunelius, Frankfurt;
    [David M. Koester, Zurich], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1972.
  • “The Year in Review for 1973.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 61, no. 2 (February 1974): 31–78. Reproduced: p. 36; Mentioned: p. 74, no. 34 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 112 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 310-312; Reproduced: p. 311
    Foschi, Pier Francesco, and Nelda Damiano. Wealth and Beauty: Pier Francesco Foschi and Painting in Renaissance Florence.
    Athens : Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 2023. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 212-214
    Lurie, Ann Tzeutschler. “Agnolo Bronzino: Portrait of a Young Lady.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 61, no. 1 (January 1974): 2–13. Reproduced: Cover, p. 1-8, figs. 1-9; Mentioned: p. 3-9 www.jstor.org
    Lisby, Darnell-Jamal, William Griswold, Matteo Augello, Alessandra Arezzi Boza, Massimiliano Capella, Luke Meagher, Stefania Ricci, and Cleveland Museum of Art. Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025. Reproduced: p. 171, pl. 48
  • Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 2025-February 1, 2026).
    Wealth and Beauty: Pier Francesco Foschi and Painting in Renaissance Florence. Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA (organizer) (January 29-April 24, 2022) https://georgiamuseum.org/exhibit/wealth-and-beauty-pier-francesco-foschi-and-painting-in-renaissance-florence/.
    Master Goldsmiths of the Renaissance: Their Models and Designs, CMA, Nov. 2, 1982- March 20, 1983. Gallery A- no catalogue
    Master Goldsmiths of the Renaissance: Their Models and Designs. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 1982-March 20, 1983).
    Year in Review: 1973. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 30-March 17, 1974).
    The Year in Review for 1973, CMA, Jan 30-March, 1983, no. 34.
    Meisterwerke alter Malerei aus Frankfurter Privatbesitz, Städelisches Kunst Institut, Frankfurt, 1925, no. 28 (pl. XXVII)
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Woman|url=false|author=Agnolo Bronzino|year=c. 1550|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.121