Portrait of Clara

Giovanni Battista Ferrara · 1521

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

62 × 48 cm

This exquisite Renaissance portrait represents the pinnacle of early 16th century Florentine portraiture. The sitter — identified by later inscription as Clara Visconti, noblewoman — is depicted with the poise and self-possession that Ferrara's wealthy Milanese patrons demanded. The sfumato technique — the gradual blending of tones without hard edges — creates a face that seems to breathe. The intricate lace collar is a technical tour de force; it took Ferrara, by his own account, six weeks to paint.