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Attributed to Lavinia Fontana , Italian, 1552-1614

Title

Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour

Datelate 1590s

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

89 x 65 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1885

Object numberNGI.460

DescriptionThis depiction of an unidentified man was painted by Lavinia Fontana, a Bolognese native famed for her portraiture and recognised as one of the first women in Europe to have achieved a successful public career as an artist. The subject stands with a hand on his hip and gazes boldly at the viewer, a smile touching the corners of his lips. Light reflects brilliantly against one side of his breastplate, and illuminates a helmet on the lower left where he proudly rests his other hand. Fontana has finished the painting with meticulous detail, from the intricate lace collar and cuffs to the delicate gold decoration applied to the armour.