Shown from the thighs up, a pale-skinned woman wearing a cream-white gown ornamented with gold bows looks at us from the corners of her brown eyes in this vertical portrait. Her body faces us, but she turns her head to our left. She has thin, arched eyebrows, a straight nose, flushed cheeks, a dimple in her chin, and her pink lips are closed. Her chestnut-brown hair is parted down the middle and pulled back under a gold and pearl headdress, but two wispy curls lie on her smooth forehead near the temple we can see. A string of black pearls ending in a gold pendant hangs down the front of her ear. A white ruffled collar encircles her neck over two heavy, gold necklaces. A blue stone and a pearl in a gold setting lies on her chest, and the second chain reaches to her waist. The satin bodice is fitted, and the sleeves are puffy below the shoulders. Voluminous long sleeves are slitted and a white chemise patterned with delicate black designs is pulled through, creating little tufts. She wears three gold rings on her two hands. She holds white gloves and a pink carnation in one hand, which rests on a table covered in a red tapestry to our right, and a dark green feather fan in her other hand. Her gown splits over a pine-green skirt beneath. A shimmering, forest-green velvet curtain behind the woman sweeps to one side to reveal a caramel-grown stone pillar along the left edge of the painting.

Portrait of a Lady in White

Moretto da Brescia

Shown from the thighs up, a pale-skinned woman wearing a cream-white gown ornamented with gold bows looks at us from the corners of her brown eyes in this vertical portrait. Her body faces us, but she turns her head to our left. She has thin, arched eyebrows, a straight nose, flushed cheeks, a dimple in her chin, and her pink lips are closed. Her chestnut-brown hair is parted down the middle and pulled back under a gold and pearl headdress, but two wispy curls lie on her smooth forehead near the temple we can see. A string of black pearls ending in a gold pendant hangs down the front of her ear. A white ruffled collar encircles her neck over two heavy, gold necklaces. A blue stone and a pearl in a gold setting lies on her chest, and the second chain reaches to her waist. The satin bodice is fitted, and the sleeves are puffy below the shoulders. Voluminous long sleeves are slitted and a white chemise patterned with delicate black designs is pulled through, creating little tufts. She wears three gold rings on her two hands. She holds white gloves and a pink carnation in one hand, which rests on a table covered in a red tapestry to our right, and a dark green feather fan in her other hand. Her gown splits over a pine-green skirt beneath. A shimmering, forest-green velvet curtain behind the woman sweeps to one side to reveal a caramel-grown stone pillar along the left edge of the painting.

Colors in this work

Details
Artist
Moretto da Brescia
Date
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.)
Department
CIS-R
Holding institution
National Gallery of Art
Palette

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Image provider
national-gallery-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection

Art Genome Taxonomy

8 tags

Subject Matter

  • Individual Portrait Both · 99%

    The title identifies the work as a portrait, and the image clearly shows a single female sitter presented as the central subject.

  • Related to Fashion Both · 98%

    The sitter’s gown, headdress, jewelry, gloves, and feather fan are prominent visual features, and the catalog description gives clothing and accessories a central role.

  • Flora Both · 99%

    A pink carnation is visibly held in the sitter’s right hand, and the catalog explicitly identifies the flower.

Visual Qualities

  • Dark Colors Visual · 96%

    Deep green curtains, dark hair, and shadowed areas create a predominantly dark setting that contrasts strongly with the pale gown and skin.

  • Highly Ornamented Both · 98%

    The dress, jewelry, headdress, patterned sleeves, gloves, fan, and surrounding textiles produce an unmistakably elaborate ornamental appearance, also documented in the catalog description.

  • Highly Detailed Visual · 93%

    The image renders facial features, hair, fabric folds, repeated gold bows, jewelry, pearls, gloves, the flower, fan, curtain, pillar, and patterned textile with close visual attention.

Medium and Techniques

  • Oil Painting Metadata · 99%

    The National Gallery of Art catalog identifies the work as oil on canvas.

Time Periods

  • 16th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The catalog dates the painting to circa 1540, placing it in the sixteenth century.

Source & rights

Moretto da Brescia. Portrait of a Lady in White. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

High-resolution sources

Catalog record ↗ Image source ↗ Image license ↗ Image-use terms ↗ Catalog metadata terms ↗

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