Offered by Antichità di Alina
Portrait Of A Lady In A Black Velvet Hat, Workshop Of Alessandro Allori, Florence
Florence, circa 1570–1580.
Oil on copper.
Dimensions: 17 x 13.5 cm. (Unframed)
This small portrait on copper depicts a noblewoman wearing a black gown, lace ruff and a distinctive cylindrical black velvet hat, characteristic of the austere Spanish fashion adopted by the Medici court during the later decades of the sixteenth century.
The headdress belongs to a type frequently encountered in Florentine court portraiture of the 1570s and 1580s. Comparable examples appear in portraits of Giovanna of Austria, wife of Francesco I de’ Medici, including the full-length portrait in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the posthumous portrait with her son Filippo in the Uffizi, associated with Giovanni Bizzelli. A closely related bust-length portrait of the same typology was also offered by Dorotheum as a work by Giovanni Maria Butteri, another painter trained in the circle of Alessandro Allori.
The painting is closely connected to the workshop of Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), one of the leading painters of late Renaissance Florence and a central figure in Medici court portraiture. Particularly interesting comparisons may be drawn with Allori’s Portrait of a Young Man in the Kress Collection, Columbia Museum of Art, notably in the pose, the treatment of the ruff and the sober version of the hat.
The dimensions and copper support are also noteworthy. Recent works attributed to Alessandro Allori include two small portraits on copper of almost identical size: a Portrait of Giovanna of Austria sold at Sotheby’s New York (27 January 2022, lot 3; 16.5 x 12.7 cm) and a Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo or Virginia de’ Medici sold at Sotheby’s New York (26 January 2023, lot 101; 16 x 12 cm). These comparisons reinforce the connection of the present work with the Florentine courtly portrait tradition of the late sixteenth century.
The copper plate itself is unusually thick and substantial for a work of this size. Copper was an expensive support, appreciated for the precision and refinement it allowed, and generally associated with commissions intended for wealthy and cultivated patrons.
Accompanied by an expertise by Professor Federico Berti, who attributes the painting to the workshop of Alessandro Allori and dates it to the eighth decade of the sixteenth century.
Good overall condition.
