Sofonisba Anguissola (Cremona, about 1532 - 1625, Palermo)
Juana of Austria and a Young Girl, 1561-1562
Oil on canvas, 194 x 108.3 cm (76 3/8 x 42 5/8 in.)
This large double portrait shows a full length view of a woman and young girl, both expensively and elaborately dressed in sixteenth century European garb. The fair haired woman is turned slightly to the left with her right hand on the shoulder of the little girl pressed against her dress on the left . The top of the girl’s head comes almost to the woman’s elbow. Both have pale complexions, hazel eyes, and dark blonde hair parted in the center and pulled into loose wings on each side. However, the older woman’s complexion is rosier, her hair has more red tones, and her hairline recedes more on each side. Both of them look directly at the viewer but the older woman’s drawn down eyebrows, long sharp nose, and unsmiling lips make her seem aloof. The young girl looks uncertain and a bit frightened. The contrast in the severity of their clothing adds to the sense of disparity in their temperaments. The young girl wears a floral embroidered, avocado green, floor length dress with gold ribbed sleeves embellished with white lace at her neck and wrist, and a ribbon around her waist tied in a bow. She carries three pale roses in her hand. In contrast, the older woman is dressed in a severely cut, high necked, full skirted, floor length, black velvet gown with wide sleeves and a V shaped bodice. The dress absorbs all the light so its contours are invisible and her figure is masked. The darkness of her costume is barely relieved by the thin scarf of white lace she wears as a long chain for a cameo of a man. A small band of white lace peeks out of her sleeve at her wrist. She also wears a white lace ruff tight around her face, obscuring her neck. The back of her head is covered by a small fitted white cap decorated with a wide braid. The woman’s hands are covered in large jeweled rings except for the index finger of each hand. The hand that protectively touches the girl’s shoulder is bare but the other hand wears a rough, oversized tan, colored glove with cut outs to allow for the rings. She also holds a closed fan and the second glove in her gloved hand. The background of the painting shows a pink floor that melds into a green plain wall with a small rectangle window of white, pink, and blue sky with wispy clouds at the upper left corner.
Titian Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner bought this painting as a Titian, although she had been warned by Bernard Berenson that the attribution was in some doubt. Perhaps reluctant to disappoint his patron, Berenson changed his mind, and helped Gardner with the purchase. She hung the painting opposite Titian’s Europa. Although not by Titian, it was painted at precisely the same time that the Europa arrived at the Spanish court.
Sofonisba Anguissola was born into a minor aristocratic family in Cremona, and studied painting under Bernardino Campi. In 1560, she was appointed painter to the new queen of Spain, Isabel de Valois (1546–1568), who had become Philip II’s third wife. She taught the young queen drawing and made numerous portraits of the royal family and members of the court.
The subject of the portrait, Juana of Austria (1535–1573), was a formidable politician and patron of the arts. Daughter of Charles V (she wears a cameo of the emperor in this painting), Juana married Prince Juan of Portugal. After just two years of marriage, Juan died and Juana returned to Spain to become regent while her brother Philip II was in England. Although she was celebrated for her ability in state affairs, Juana thereafter devoted her energies to religious life. In 1557, she founded a monastery, the Descalzas Reales, which became an important center of artistic patronage. This portrait was painted in 1561 for the pope, and was thus meant to show Juana’s religious devotion. The child by her side is probably a young aristocrat under her protection who is being prepared to enter the religious order.
Source: Alan Chong, "Portrait of Juana of Austria with a Young Girl," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 91.
Sofonisba Anguissola was born into a minor aristocratic family in Cremona, and studied painting under Bernardino Campi. In 1560, she was appointed painter to the new queen of Spain, Isabel de Valois (1546–1568), who had become Philip II’s third wife. She taught the young queen drawing and made numerous portraits of the royal family and members of the court.
The subject of the portrait, Juana of Austria (1535–1573), was a formidable politician and patron of the arts. Daughter of Charles V (she wears a cameo of the emperor in this painting), Juana married Prince Juan of Portugal. After just two years of marriage, Juan died and Juana returned to Spain to become regent while her brother Philip II was in England. Although she was celebrated for her ability in state affairs, Juana thereafter devoted her energies to religious life. In 1557, she founded a monastery, the Descalzas Reales, which became an important center of artistic patronage. This portrait was painted in 1561 for the pope, and was thus meant to show Juana’s religious devotion. The child by her side is probably a young aristocrat under her protection who is being prepared to enter the religious order.
Source: Alan Chong, "Portrait of Juana of Austria with a Young Girl," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 91.