Spanish master of the 16th century Portrait of... Lot 2014

Spanish master of the 16th century Portrait of lady in black dress Oil on canvas (doubled). 109 x 68,5 cm. Inscribed: AETATIS.SVE.22. (upper left) and ANNO. 1555 (upper right). Provenance Belgian private property. This beautiful portrait shows great psychological insight and also great solemnity: the lady's expression is both human and formal. Her dress is beautifully decorated with gold and silver brocade, creating an almost abstract, modern effect. The rings she wears, the rose on the table (a sign of love) and the irises (purity) suggest that this work was created on the occasion of an engagement or wedding. Although the painting is clearly Spanish (there are many analogies with the oeuvre of Jorge de la Rua, for example, and also Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, but he belongs to a later generation), it also contains very clear Flemish and Nordic influences. Painters such as Pieter Pourbus, Frans I Pourbus, Willem Key, and especially Anthony Mor Van Dashorst were very popular and well-known at the Spanish and Habsburg courts.