Italian and Northern Renaissance
The work of art which I have selected for this assignment is Portrait of a Young Woman which is also called Idealized Portrait of a Young Woman and goes by even more names. It was painted either by Sandro Boticelli or Jacopo de Sellaio and features a profile of a young woman believed to be loosely based upon Simonetta Vespucci. I say loosely because, although much of the painting resembles her, it has long been believed to have been a goddess or nymph, hence, the title often including the word idealized.
![Idealized Portrait of a Lady [Sandro Botticelli] | Sartle - Rogue Art History](https://www.sartle.com/media/artwork/idealized-portrait-of-a-lady-sandro-botticelli.jpg)
In my opinion, this work is quite striking. Renaissance art, especially of women, is often interesting as the ideals for beauty are so different now from how they were then. I find it fascinating how the woman is so elegant while not carrying what are now thought of as elegant qualities. For example, she has a very prolong face shape with a pointy nose and a large chin. All of these things are no longer considered as the beauty standard. Yet, because they were at the time, they somehow come together in the painting to be the very picture of beauty and grace. Personally, I believe this painting to be exceptionally beautiful and a great reminder that standards for beauty come and go, yet the way that one carries oneself reveals a true timeless sort of beauty from within.
There is not much information known about the painting, the artist, or the subject of the painting. However, the research community generally believes the painting to be a rendition of Simonetta Vespucci. Simonetta was a Florentine poet who was married to Marco Vespucci when she was quite young. Her new husband was very close with the Medici brothers and, upon moving to Florence, Simonetta became very close with them. Her and Marco were married at the Medici's Villa di Careggi. Giuliano Medici was also known to admire Simonetta greatly. He entered a jousting tournament holding a banner with a picture of Simonetta with the inscription La Sans Pareille, meaning "The Unparalleled One." and later nominated Simonetta as "The Queen of Beauty." Although it is unlikely that Simonetta and Giuliano were ever lovers, these displays were considered within the cultural courtship customs of the time. Additionally, Simonetta can be seen with a medallion (possibly a copy) of the "Nero's Seal" in the painting, a medallion which belonged to Lorenzo de' Medici.
Botticelli, Sandro. “Idealised Portrait of a Lady (Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci as Nymph).” Digital Collection, Städel Museum, 1 Jan. 1480, https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/idealised-portrait-of-a-lady.
“Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci.” Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci by Sandro Botticelli, The History of Art, 2023, https://www.thehistoryofart.org/sandro-botticelli/portrait-of-simonetta-vespucci/.
Schmitter, Monika. Botticelli's Images of Simonetta Vespucci: Between Portrait and Ideal. University of Massachusetts, 1995.
This is a great painting! I was looking at this painting when I was trying to pick a piece of artwork to talk about this week. I also think that she is very beautiful, and loved all of the detail that was put into her hair. I also looked up this picture trying to figure out who was the woman in the painting, but couldn't find a website that gave a definite answer. The only thing I was able to find was that people believed it was Simonetta Vespucci. I also researched Simonetta and discovered that she died very young.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theflorentine.net/2012/05/10/simonetta-vespucci/
I love the details of the jewlery of this painting, I am glad that you explained what kind of neckace is she wearing. I wonder why the nero´s seal was adopted by the medici, I guess I have some research to do!
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