With her shoulders slightly turned to the left and her gaze fixed on the viewer, the elegantly dressed unknown lady holds in her right hand the fur of a sable, a precious accessory very much in vogue during the 16th century used also to swat flies away (R. Levi, Pisetzky, Il costume e la moda nella società italiana, Turin, 1978, pp. 213-214).
It has been acknowledged by Carlo Volpe that, as previously stated by the author, the attribution of this piece to Bartolomeo Passerotti’s oeuvre is correct and, judging by the medium, suggests the date of execution to be “in una fase non avanzata del suo percorso” based on comparison with other works, completed during the 1560s, such as the Madonna on the throne with saints and portraits of the two patrons, of 1564 (Bologna, San Giacomo Maggiore) or the Portrait of a Gentleman at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Marseille, dated 1566. Volpe also highlights further the strong debt owed to the Emilian and in particular Parmese culture of the time, underlining the similarities with the Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga with three children (Madrid, Prado), the attribution of which is strongly contested between Parmigianino and Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli.
In 1986 Angela Ghirardi agreed the attribution and the date of no earlier than 1570 due to the influences of Parmigianino and Nicolò dell’Abate as well as the characteristics of the clothes. Strangely in 1987, Corinna Höper did not recognise the characteristics of the Bolognese artist. However Ghirardi in her monograph (1990), not only reaffirmed the attribution but, as testimony in reference to this portrait, confirmed the existence of a second version, which came up for sale on the international art market (London, Christie’s, 15.12.1989, lot no. 58; bought by Pietro Corsini, New York), that differs from this version due to its rectangular format but is of equally fine quality. Exhibited in the Milanese exhibition in 1998, when its attribution was also confirmed and the date considered during the 1570s.
The painting is in effect one of the most impressive pieces of portraiture executed by Passerotti, due to the naturalness of the piece and its formal abstraction: seemingly capturing the distant thoughts of the sitter and painted with meticulous attention, of an almost international nature, to detail, as shown by the elegant embroidery of the dress.

Daniele Benati


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