Portrait of a Lady

Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi's Portrait of a Lady is an exceptional survival of female portraiture in the Florentine tradition, demonstrating how the profile portrait convention adopted from ancient coins and medals was applied to commemorate the women of wealthy Florentine families. Scheggia, as this minor Florentine master was known, produced both cassone panels and portraits, and his female portrait in profile follows the standard format established by Pisanello and adopted throughout Italian painting for female representation. The profile view emphasized the sitter's noble outline and was considered appropriately modest for female portraiture.

Lo Scheggia's portrait style, while less sophisticated than that of Florence's leading portraitists, has a directness and decorative charm, with clear coloring and precise rendering of the sitter's costume and features.