Portrait of a Couple
Unknown Artist
c. 1580–88
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 99.8 × 140.5 cm · framed: 132 × 173 × 10.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Holden Collection
Accession Number
1916.793
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
While the attribution remains hotly debated, this work exemplifies how Italian portraiture of the 1500s could articulate family alliances through marriage. The inscription gives the sitters’ ages as 35 and 28, and their elaborate jewelry, weapons, and garments, made of expensive materials, convey their elite status. The marten skin attached to the woman’s waist-its head decorated with gems-symbolized propriety. These expressions of wealth convey achievements and position rather than accurate per...