Botticelli, Sandro, Portrait of a Lady (“Simonetta Vespucci”), 1480-1485, 32 x 21 in. (82 x 54 cm), tempera on wood, Stadel Museum, Frankfurt.
Sandro Botticelli, a leading Florentine painter of the Early Renaissance excelled at creating portraits of mythological creatures and scenes. In Portrait of a Lady, also known as Idealised Portrait of a Lady, Botticelli portrays a beautiful young nymph dressed in a fantastical wardrobe. The elaborate and embellished wardrobe of the woman includes magnificent ribbons, feathers, lace and beads detailed in her dress, jewelry and hair. Botticelli sexualizes the woman’s appearance through her long braids that fall on her chest. Furthermore, the nymph is not making direct eye contact with the viewer which makes her more desirable; Botticelli challenges the strict profile portraiture style by offering a glimpse of the young lady’s left eye and slightly positioning the young lady towards the viewer to emphasize her chest. The nymph wears a large medallion, believed to be Nero’s Seal, which belonged to powerful Italian statesman, Lorenzo de’Medici. Nero’s Seal depicts the mythological legend of the musical challenge between Apollo (God of Music and Sun) and satyr, Marsyas; the presence of Nero’s Seal further emphasizes the lady’s status as a beautiful mythological creature.
Scholars argue that the young nymph is actually an idealized portrait of Simonetta Vespucci who was known to be one of the most beautiful women in Florence during the Early Renaissance period. Historians contend that Botticelli was madly in love with Vespucci.
Sources:
Gabriela. “Sandro Botticelli – Portrait of a Young Woman (1480 – 1485).” Artschaft, 17 Jan. 2018, artschaft.com/2018/01/17/sandro-botticelli-portrait-of-a-young-woman-1480-1485/.
“Portrait of a Young Woman.” Portrait of a Young Woman by Sandro Botticelli, 2018, www.sandro-botticelli.org/portrait-of-a-young-woman/.