Portrait of a Young Woman as a Wise Virgin
Sebastiano del Piombo·c. 1510
Historical Context
Sebastiano del Piombo's Portrait of a Young Woman as a Wise Virgin, painted around 1510, depicts a woman holding a lamp, identifying her as one of the five wise virgins from the parable in Matthew 25. This early work dates from Sebastiano's Venetian period, before his move to Rome in 1511. The combination of portrait with allegorical role was a characteristically Venetian conceit, allowing the artist to display both his naturalistic skill and his intellectual sophistication.
Technical Analysis
Sebastiano's early Venetian technique shows the influence of Giorgione in the warm, glowing color and the sfumato modeling of the face. The oil technique on panel achieves rich, deep tones that merge the figure with the atmospheric background in the Giorgionesque manner.
Provenance
Jan and Jacobus van Veerle, Antwerp, by 1650. Edward White, London, by 1870; (probably his sale, Christie's, London, 5 April 1872); purchased by (Colnaghi's, London and New York) for Sir Francis Cook, 1st Bt. [1817-1901], Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey; by inheritance to his son, Sir Frederick Lucas Cook, 2nd Bt. [1844-1920], Doughty House; by inheritance to his son, Sir Herbert Frederick Cook, 3rd Bt. [1868-1939], Doughty House; by inheritance to his son, Sir Francis Ferdinand Maurice Cook, 4th Bt. [1907-1978], Doughty House, and Cothay Manor, Somerset;[1] (Francis A. Drey, London); sold February 1947 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[2] gift 1952 to NGA. [1] The record of the sale to the Kress Foundation (see note 2) states that the painting is from "the collection of the late Sir Herbert Cook of Richmond (Surrey) England." The 4th Bt. inherited the collection and managed its dispersal after World War II with the trustees of the Cook estate. [2] Drey sold five Cook paintings to the Kress Foundation, including Sebastiano del Piombo's "Portrait of a Lady" (bill of sale dated 18 February 1947; copy in NGA curatorial files). See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1726.
See It In Person
More by Sebastiano del Piombo
Christ Carrying the Cross
Sebastiano del Piombo·c. 1515–17
Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus (born about 1446, died 1506)
Sebastiano del Piombo (Sebastiano Luciani)·1519
Cardinal Bandinello Sauli, His Secretary, and Two Geographers
Sebastiano del Piombo·1516
Portrait of a Humanist
Sebastiano del Piombo·c. 1520
