Portrait of a Lady
Historical Context
Michele Tosini, called Michele di Ridolfo, painted this portrait of a lady around 1555, during his career as a successful Florentine painter who continued the tradition of his master Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Tosini was a productive workshop painter who served the Florentine middle class with portraits and devotional paintings in the style of the preceding generation. His portraits preserve the appearance of Florentine society in the era of Cosimo I de' Medici.
Technical Analysis
Tosini's oil on panel demonstrates the smooth, controlled technique of the Ghirlandaio workshop tradition. The restrained palette and careful rendering of the sitter's costume and features reflect the conservative Florentine approach to portraiture that prioritized dignity and propriety.
Provenance
Elia Volpi, Florence, by 1910; sold in his sale, Jandolo and Tavazzi, Florence, April 25, 1910, no. 64, as Ridolfo Ghirlandajo. Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris, by 1913, as Bronzino [see Galerie Sedelmeyer 1913; this location does not necessarily precede its presence in Eugène Fischhof’s possession]. Eugène Fischhof, Paris, by 1913; sold in his sale, Galerie George Petit, Paris, June 14, 1913, no. 69, as Bronzino, for Fr 11,000 [according to an annotated sale catalogue in The Ryerson Library, Art Institute]. Van Diemen Galleries, New York, by 1926; sold by Van Diemen to Charles H. Worcester, Chicago, 1926, as Bronzino [according to a letter from Van Diemen to Worcester dated November 8, 1926, in curatorial file]; intermittently on loan to the Art Institute from 1926; given to the Art Institute, 1937.
