Flora

Bartolomeo Veneto

1500 (circa)

Physical Description

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: 43.5 x 34.3 cm.

Production Description

Production Date: 1500 (circa)

Provenance

Current Location: Francoforte sul Meno, Stadelsches Institut

Catalog Number: 1077

Archival History: Galleria Schleissheim und Gsell, Vienna; sold to Francoforte, Stadelsches Institut (1872)

Scholarly Commentary

Introduction

For most the of the nineteenth century, this painting was called “The Courtesan” and considered to be an ideal, or fantasy portrait. However, in 1922 George Swarzenski, then director of the Stadelsches Institut, declared it to be a portrait of Lucrezia Borgia. Andre de Hevesy followed suit in 1931, but the identification of the sitter as Lucrezia remains disputed and has not been accepted by scholars of Renaissance art.

Bibliography

de Hevesy, Andre. “Some Portraits of the Borgias—Lucrezia,” The Burlington Magazine for Conoisseurs Vol. 61, no. 353 (July, 1932) 21-24, 26-31.
Laureati, Laura. Lucrezia Borgia [Ferrara-Palazzo Bonacossi 5 ottobre-15 dicembre 2002], (Ferrara: Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara, 2002) 58.
Pagnotta, Laura. Bartolomeo Veneto: L'Opera Completa. (Centro Di, 1997) 39-48; 170-173 (no. 8).
Swarzenski, George. “Bartolomeo Veneto and Lucrezia Borgia,” Stadel-Jahrbuch, 1922.