Portrait Of A Lady, French School Circa 1580

Oil on panel. French School, circa 1580, in the style of François Clouet.
This small female portrait belongs to the tradition of French court portraiture at the end of the Valois dynasty, directly influenced by François Clouet. The strict frontality, the neutral background, the precise lines of the face, and the meticulous attention to fabrics and jewelry reflect the practices of Parisian workshops active after 1570, which continued the Clouet style. The costume—a ruff with wide white pipes, a green bodice enhanced with gold braid in the shape of scales, puffed sleeves, and a red hat embroidered with gold thread and a plume—corresponds to the fashion of the 1580s–1600s. The jewel-like treatment of the necklace and pendant, as well as the slightly austere modeling, confirm the hand of a Parisian workshop.
The work can be compared to the female portraits held at Chantilly attributed to Clouet's workshop, to the effigies of Catherine-Marie of Lorraine, or even to the work of the Dumonstier family, due to the same graphic rigor and the same taste for the meticulous depiction of accessories.

The portrait of our elegant woman is set in a sturdy, inverted-profile frame of blackened wood.
Panel dimensions: 29 x 21 cm - 44 x 36 cm with the frame