Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
Bronzino was court painter to Cosimo I de’Medici, the Duke of Florence. Though the woman cannot be definitively identified, she was likely affiliated with the Medici court. As in most of the portraits in this gallery, Bronzino emphasizes wealth, status, and courtly refinement above personality or individualized expression. The plain background further accentuates the work’s monumentality and grandeur, despite its small scale. The hand placed against the chest with elegantly spread fingers extends back to an ancient Greek pose of modesty, here emphasizing the proper comportment of a woman of high status. The sitter wears a linen partlet (collar) delicately embroidered in matt stitch, part of which is, like her cuffs, trimmed in fine lace.
Provenance
Stadelscher Museums-Verein, Frankfurt, in 1882; Freifau Mumm von Schwarzenstein, Frankfurt; Baron Max von Grunelius, Frankfurt; [David M. Koester, Zurich], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1972.
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1973. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 30-March 17, 1974). Master Goldsmiths of the Renaissance: Their Models and Designs. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 1982-March 20, 1983). Wealth and Beauty: Pier Francesco Foschi and Painting in Renaissance Florence. Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA (organizer) (January 29-April 24, 2022) https://georgiamuseum.org/exhibit/wealth-and-beauty-pier-francesco-foschi-and-painting-in-renaissance-florence/. Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 2025-February 1, 2026).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Agnolo Bronzino (Italian, 1503–1572)
- Date
- c. 1550
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- Framed: 81.6 x 68.5 x 6.7 cm (32 1/8 x 26 15/16 x 2 5/8 in.); Unframed: 60 x 48.8 cm (23 5/8 x 19 3/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1972.121
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009309
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