Sofonisba Anguissola

Bucerius, Kunst Forum, Germany, 28 May-21 August 2005; Dresden, Staaliche Kunstsammlungen, 27 September 2005-January 2006; Budapest, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum 21 January-30 April 2006, Greco, Velàzquez, Goya, Spanische Malerei aus deutschen Sammlungen, cat. no. 16.

M. Weniger, Greco, Velàzquez, Goya, Spanische Malerei aus deutschen Sammlungen, exhibition catalogue., Hamburg 2005, p. 62, cat. no. 16, reproduced in colour.

The canvas has a firm relining which has somewhat flattened the paint surface. The is an old vertical canvas join running the length of the painting approx. 30 cm in from the right hand edge. The paint surface is secure and the details of the face, hands and gilt sword hilt are well preserved however the darker areas are much abraded. There are 10 old damages patched to the reverse, the largest of which is to the left of the sitter's face and is approx. 20 cm in length. There is also a further damage running from the sitter left hand upper thigh to his knee. Retouching works are evident in these areas and inspection under UV light reveals work in the aforementioned abraded darks. Offed in a later stained wood frame in good condition.
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This painting portrays Francesco I de Medici, the eldest son of Cosimo I and Eleonora de Toledo, who became the second Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1574. Anguissola married Orazio Lomellini in 1579, after the death of her first husband, and it is believed that she painted this portrait of the Grand Duke when accompanying her spouse to Florence to 'pay his respects' to Francesco, the ruler and patroniser of his wife, as was customary at the time.
Anguissola's depiction of Francesco can be compared to her portrait of King Philip II of Spain, now in the Museo del Prado, not only in the strong, black fashion of the portrayed, but also in the execution of their facial features and the artist's apparent interest in the contained psychology of her sitters.