“Profile Portrait of a Young Lady”
This beautiful portrait is an oil painting on poplar wood that was made either by the Italian Renaissance artist, Antonio del Pollaiuolo, or his brother, Perio del Pollaiuolo. It is titled “Profile Portrait of a Young Lady” and was made circa 1465 in Florence, Italy.
Antonio del Pollaiuolo and his brother, Piero, were both artists and created a large number of portraits of women towards the end of the fifteenth century. The brothers shared a studio and after 1460, often collaborated on works. Though both were highly respected artists, Antonio is usually regarded as more talented than his brother due to the very fine detail that he added to his subjects’ clothes and hair, in addition to his grasp of the human anatomy; details which some argue can be seen in this piece.
The Pollaiuolo brothers’ workshop produced a large number of portraits from the mid-1460s until 1480, when Piero del Pollaiuolo opened his own workshop. The brothers were instrumental in developing women portraiture, particularly the solitary woman portrait. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish which brother painted which part of the portrait.
This is a wonderful example of early Florentine Renaissance art with its clear lines, the pose of the woman, and the style of dress.
“Profile Portrait of a Young Lady” can currently be seen at the Gemäldegalerie; the art museum of the State Museums in Berlin, Germany.
For more on Antonio del Pollaiuolo, please visit his short biography here.
For more on Piero del Pollaiuolo, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
