Portrait of a Woman Agnolo di Cosimo Bronzino (circle of)

Bronzino was court painter to Cosimo de’ Medici, who ruled Florence by the grace of the Spanish House of Habsburg, and was later made Grand Duke of Tuscany. The artist painted portraits of members of the ducal household, including the one seen here. Nothing is known about this particular model, however, whose individuality is concealed behind a mask of rank, etiquette and bigoted religiosity. The painter has portrayed every detail of the face and clothing with the same dispassionate precision. The cold dignity and formal stiffness in this elegant lady’s demeanour, together with the cool lighting and he neutral background, generate a respectful sense of distance between the viewer and the sitter. Although the tools for portraying the soul were well-known by this time, Bronzino – like several other court portraitists – deliberately eschewed such techniques.