Portrait of a lady with a "fraise" - entourage of Sofonisba Anguissola (1535 - 1625)

Oil on canvas. Lombardo-Emilian school circa 1570, entourage of Sofonisba Anguissola.
Portrayed three-quarter-face, our young princess scrutinizes the viewer, adopting a pose dictated by the aesthetic canons of her time. Probably a member of the Lombard or Emilian aristocracy, she is dressed in a sumptuous costume of precious fabrics. The emerald-green velvet simarre (outer robe) and white silk chemise are sewn with gold thread. The high burr presents the head as if placed on a platter. The hair rises in a snowshoe style, and the head is crowned by a bonnet adorned with an aigrette at its center. Finally, the many jewels - a multi-row gold sautoir, a necklace set with rubies and pearls, a rich medallion depicting the Virgin Mary - all testify to the importance of our princess's rank.
Numerous clues, both pictorial and technical, lead us into the world of the woman painter whose talent Vasari and Michelangelo appreciated. The great attention to detail, with a strong impasto to create the impression of depth, the coloring of the face, and the "square U" shape of the left hand, all point to Sofonisba Anguissola. But the density of the complexion and the drawing of a fleshy hand take us further away. When Giorgio Vasari visited the Anguissola family in 1566, Sofonisba was absent, having been in the service of the Spanish court since 1559, but this did not prevent the author of the famous "Vite" from reporting that the "six sisters accomplished marvels" (in drawing and painting, of course). We're probably looking at the work of his most talented sister, Lucia, who imitated her elder sister but had her own character, painting with fleshier hands. Lucia produced some excellent portraits: Doctor Pietro Maria Prado Museum Madrid, Self-portrait Galleria Borghese Rome.

Our portrait is presented in a powerful Florentine "Medici" period frame in carved wood, gilded and brown rechampi.
Dimensions: 64.5 x 50.5 cm - 98 x 84 cm with frame