Italian, 'Portrait of a Lady with a Dog', late 16th century
About the work
Overview
This unknown lady stands beside a table covered with an expensive Ottoman carpet on which her small dog is lying. Her hands rest affectionately on the little dog’s back, while its paw lies on the inside of her arm. Dogs were often included in portraits to symbolise the sitter’s faithfulness, which may be the case here.
The lady’s clothes suggests a date in the late sixteenth century, and that she is a noblewoman. Her sober black gown covers an expensive white silk costume that is closed with elaborate gold buttons and thick gold chains and decorated with gold embroidery or braid.
The portrait is probably North Italian, and was formerly attributed to Sofonisba Anguissola. The painting shows some similarities to the style of Bartolomeo Passarotti, who worked mainly in Bologna.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Portrait of a Lady with a Dog
- Artist
- Italian
- Date made
- late 16th century
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 83.8 × 70.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Sir Henry Howorth through the Art Fund, 1923
- Inventory number
- NG3817
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1987; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1962Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
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1987Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.