Portrait of a Woman
1518
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1518
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
This is a woman in a black veil and a stiff white hood, her hands folded quietly in her lap. The fabric looks so real you want to touch it. The hood is French, but the artist was Italian—he painted this while working for the French king. That mix of styles makes the portrait feel like a secret handshake between two countries. To see how other Italians painted women in the 1500s, look up the subject: italy, 16th century.
