When dry January is moving at a snail's pace... 🐌 We don‘t know the identity of this woman dressed in sumptuous fabrics and heavy gold jewellery, but her clothing suggests she is a lady of the Saxon court. The letter ’M' is fashioned in pearls across her bodice, suggesting that this is a portrait of a real person, but her facial features follow a generic, idealised perception of beauty. It has been suggested that this woman could have been a mistress of one of the electors of Saxony, and her features were deliberately generalised by the artist, Lucas Cranach the Elder. The woman’s body is positioned at a three-quarter turn, but her gaze is directed towards the viewer. The women in Cranach’s portraits of identifiable people generally avert their gaze, keeping their heads in line with their bodies. This woman stares at us with a look of superiority. Cranach often adopted this expression in his portrayal of classical goddesses and biblical figures. Lucas Cranach the Elder, 'Portrait of a Woman', 1525-7 © The National Gallery, London. #ArtHistory #Portrait #NationalGallery