ARTWORKS

A Man and his Wife

Italian School

The National Gallery, London

A Man and his Wife

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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This portrait of an unknown husband and wife is unusually intimate. The costumes have been dated to the mid-1540s. It was rare at the time for a man to be depicted with his hand resting on his wife’s shoulder. It was also slightly unusual for a woman to be shown on her husband’s right-hand side, which was regarded as the position of honour. The lady is standing before a fruiting lemon tree, perhaps symbolising fertility, and holding a pink carnation, which was a flower associated with betrothals.

The picture is badly damaged, so it is difficult to tell who painted it. The portrait came from a collection in Ferrara and may have been made in North Italy, but perhaps by a Flemish rather than an Italian artist. The costumes are provincial from northern Italy and suggest that it is not Venetian.

The National Gallery, London

London

Read more on The National Gallery, London
Title

A Man and his Wife

Date

mid-1540s

Medium

Oil on canvas, perhaps transferred from wood

Measurements

H 65.4 x W 73.7 cm

Accession number

NG3117

Acquisition method

Layard Bequest, 1916

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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Artist or maker

Italian School

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