Ambrosius Benson circle; c. 1540,

Circle of AMBROSIUS BENSON (Lombardy region?, ca. 1490-1500 - Bruges, January 1550); circa 1540.
"Portrait of a lady."
Oil on panel.
It has traces of labels and stamps on the back.
Presents restorations.
Measurements: 39 x 28 cm; 56 x 46 cm (frame).
Feminine portrait in which the protagonist is placed in the foreground, on a neutral and dark background that makes her presence stand out even more, since her face is vividly illuminated. In fact, the studied lighting, of tenebrist influence, is the main expressive resource used by the painter. It is a spotlight, directed and artificial, which enters through the upper left side of the painting and falls directly on the main area of the image, the face of the character, creating expressive effects of chiaroscuro and modeling his features with great naturalism, while leaving the rest in semi-darkness. In fact, the secondary areas of the painting, such as the clothing or the hair, are worked with a much looser brushstroke, typical of the Flemish school, which helps even more to focus attention on the face.
In this work the author starts from the aesthetics of 12th century painting, influenced by the style of Ambrosius Benson. In fact, the work bears great similarities to the portrait of Anne Stafford, currently in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum, USA. Ambrosius Benson was one of the so-called masters of the tradition, successor of Van der Goes, and evidenced the influence of Van Eyck, Van der Weyden and the Flemish Primitives in general. However, in his work we can appreciate features already typical of the 16th century, coming from Italy, such as the triangular composition that we see in this work. During the 16th century, the realistic style of the Netherlands had a great influence abroad, especially in Italy. The Italian Renaissance spread throughout Europe, and Antwerp became the center of the Flemish school, displacing Bruges and functioning as a center of penetration of Italian influences. Thus, Mannerist influences reached the Netherlands. There were many painters who continued the style of the Flemish primitives, but others were so open to Renaissance influences that they even stopped painting on panel. In fact, in this work we can appreciate this 17th century trend, since, in spite of preserving the detail and verism of the Flemish school, the author opts for monumental figures and a classical spatial conception, typical of the Italian school.
The fact that this genre of painting developed to a greater extent in the countries of Flemish origin, and more specifically in Holland, is due to the commercial flourishing of those cities. This favored the beginning of an incipient bourgeoisie that gathered wealth, thus establishing itself in a higher social rank and favoring the development of a pictorial genre that favors pomp and personal recognition, such as the portrait.