Portrait of a Woman
c. 1470/1500
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
overall (octagonal): 6.42 x 4.58 cm (2 1/2 x 1 13/16 in.) gross weight: 63.75 gr (0.141 lb.)
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1957.14.644
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Samuel H. Kress Collection the National Gallery of Art this exquisite *Portrait of a Woman* a bronze medallion crafted by an anonymous Ferrarese artist around 1470–1500. Measuring just 6.42 x 4.58 cm in an elegant octagonal frame and weighing a mere 63.75 grams, it exemplifies the Renaissance fascination with intimate, portable portraiture. Produced in Ferrara, a vibrant hub of Northern Italian Renaissance art under the Este family's patronage, such small-scale sculptures were prized as personal talismans or devotional objects. The Ferrarese school blended Gothic elegance with ...