Portrait of a Lady
Rogier van der Weyden·c. 1460
Historical Context
Moretto da Brescia's Christ in the House of Simon (c. 1540) depicts the scene from Luke 7 in which the sinful woman washes Christ's feet with her tears and anoints them with perfume — a subject central to Counter-Reformation themes of repentance and divine mercy. Moretto places the biblical scene in a contemporary Brescian architectural setting, following the Venetian tradition of historical transposition that made sacred narratives immediately recognizable to contemporary audiences. His large multi-figure compositions in this vein rivaled those of Veronese in scale and ambition, though Moretto's naturalistic, somewhat austere approach differed markedly from Veronese's theatrical exuberance.
Technical Analysis
Rogier's oil on panel achieves extraordinary refinement with the sharpest possible definition of features, translucent rendering of the transparent veil, and a geometric precision in the composition that creates a sense of timeless formal perfection.
Provenance
Probably Leopold Friedrich Franz, Prince of Anhalt [d. 1817], Gotisches Haus, Wörlitz, near Dessau.[1] Probably Leopold Friedrich, Prince of Anhalt [d. 1871]; Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt [d. 1904];[2] Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt, Gotisches Haus, Wörlitz, and Herzogliches Schloss, Dessau; sold 1925 through (Bachstitz Gallery, The Hague) to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[3] purchased December 1926 by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA. [1] For the activity of this prince as a collector, see C. Rost, "Der alte Nassau-Oranische Bilderschatz und sein späterer Verbleib," _Jahrbücher für Kunstwissenschaft_ 6 (1873), 52-93. The numerous portraits in the Anhalt collection are not very precisely described in the early catalogues. However, Lorne Campbell has suggested that 1937.1.44 may be identical with no. 1318, "Dirk Bouts(?), Weibliches Porträt in schwarzer Kleidung mit rothem Gürtel," in the bedroom of Duke Franz in the Gotisches Haus; Wilhelm Hosäus, _Wörlitz. Ein Handbuch für die Besucher des Wörlitzer Gartens und die Wörlitzer Kunstammlungen_, 2d ed. (Dessau, 1883), 40. [2] Bruges, Hôtel de Gouvernement Provincial, 1902, _Exposition des primitifs flamands et d'art ancien_, no. 108, lists the Duke as the current owner. [3] Duveen Brothers Records, Files Regarding Works of Art, Box 302, folders 7-8, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
