Portrait of a Lady in White
c. 1540
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 106.4 × 87.6 cm (41 7/8 × 34 1/2 in.) framed: 142.24 × 116.21 × 10.8 cm (56 × 45 3/4 × 4 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CIS-R
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1939.1.230
Art Historical Context
Painted around 1540 by Moretto da Brescia, an important Lombard artist of the Italian Renaissance, *Portrait of a Lady in White* exemplifies the refined portraiture that flourished in northern Italy during this period. Moretto, whose real name was Alessandro Bonvicino, worked primarily in Brescia and combined the luminous color and atmospheric effects of Venetian painting with a more restrained, introspective Lombard sensibility. His portraits often convey both the social standing and inner composure of their subjects. The sitter’s elegant white gown, rendered with meticulous attention to fab...