Lot 635 | Florentine School | Portrait of a Wealthy Lady of the French Court

FLORENTINE SCHOOL
1st half of the 17th century

Title: Portrait of a Wealthy Lady of the French Court.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Mounting: Relined.
Measurement: 114 x 92cm.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

The present portrait of a richly dressed lady is enclosed in a pompous frame and stands out haughtily but at the same time delicately from the background. It is undoubtedly an official portrait with which the lady depicted, aware of her social position, wishes to express her splendour and wealth. The clothing and jewellery of great value were certainly not available to everyone and qualified the woman as an aristocrat.
The cut of the lady's black gown and collar corresponds to the French fashion around 1620, and the puffed sleeves and wide stand-up collar resemble those of some portraits of the daughters of Maria de' Medici, Queen of France, made by Frans Pourbus the Younger at the beginning of the second decade of the century. In contrast, the painterly design of the face and hands of the lady depicted betrays a style of painting that is not French but belongs to the Florentine school of the early 17th century. How then can these two dates be combined? It is probably the work of a Tuscan artist who worked in Paris at the court of Maria de Medici and portrayed a lady of high rank who apparently belonged to the queen's circle. We cannot determine who it is, whether it is a lady from her close entourage or even a member of the royal family. There are a number of artists who stayed in France for one or more periods, such as Costantino de' Servi, who was in Paris in 1600 and later in 1611, but none of them can be attributed with certainty to this magnificent portrait at present.