European, likely Spanish or Italian, ca. 17th to 19th century. A striking oil on canvas portrait of a young lady presented as a woman of virtue, with her dark dress buttoned all the way up to a high lace collar - a pink flower placed at the V, mirroring the cluster of blossoms in her hair which is pulled away from her youthful face. She looks out toward the viewer with large blue eyes framed by arched brows, an aquiline nose, rosy cheeks upon an alabaster complexion, and heart-shaped lips. While this painting would benefit from professional cleaning and restoration, upon close inspection it is possible to see the beautiful details such as the pattern of the fabric of her dress and the lovely buttons. Size: 15" L x 12" W (38.1 cm x 30.5 cm); 19.75" L x 16.75" W (50.2 cm x 42.5 cm) with frame

The composition of this portrait is reminiscent of Renaissance artist Sofonisba Anguissola's (Italian, 1532-1625) self portraits. In his "Lives of the Artists", 16th century artist and author Giorgio Vasari praised her work, stating that Sofonisba "has laboured at the difficulties of design with greater study and better grace than any other woman of our time, and she has not only succeeded in drawing, colouring, and copying from nature, and in making excellent copies of works by other hands, but has also executed by herself alone some very choice and beautiful works of painting."

Follow these links for Sofonisba's self portraits - http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/sofonisba-anguissola-renaissance-woman - AND - https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofonisba_Anguissola#/media/File:Sofonisba_Anguissola_002.jpg

Provenance: ex-Tom & Christine Accatino, Los Angeles, California, USA collection

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#140303

A few small losses to canvas to right of the sitter's face. Areas of discoloration and a few stains. Verso of the canvas has darkened with age. Note that the nails used to attach the canvas to the stretchers were hand made and are quite old.