Lady with a Fan

Alonso Sánchez Coello, 1570

This portrait by Alonso Sánchez Coello shows a noblewoman of high rank whose identity has not been firmly established. For a time she was thought to be an Infanta, perhaps a sister of Philip II, although today that remains only a hypothesis. The work is usually dated to around 1570-1573, during the years when the painter was prominent as a court portraitist in Spain. The sitter holds a fan, and a jewel or gem catches the light against the dark fabric of her dress, details that signal her rank and refined taste. One peculiarity is that the painting was probably larger originally: the cropping that affects her right hand, the arrangement of her arms and the irregular outline suggest it was reduced at some point. This loss makes the original composition hard to read, yet it does not diminish the care with which the artist models the textiles and the face in a restrained, quietly composed portrait.

Painter: Alonso Sánchez Coello
Date: 1570
Medium: oil paint, panel
Dimensions: 63 × 55 cm
Museum: Museo del Prado, Madrid
Genre: portrait
Depicts: hand fan, gemstone

Share:Facebook WhatsApp

More works by Alonso Sánchez Coello

**Lady in a Fur Wrap**1577Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

**Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia**1577Museo del Prado

**Don John of Austria**1560Museo Soumaya

**Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catharina, Daughters of Philip II, King of Spain**1569Royal Collection

**Ignatius of Loyola portrait (Alonso Sánchez Coello)**1585

**The Infantas Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela**1575Museo del Prado

**Prince Don Carlos**1555Museo del Prado

**Portrait of Don Diego, Son of King Philip II of Spain**1577Liechtenstein Museum

**The Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia and Magdalena Ruiz**1585Museo del Prado

**Portrait of the Infanta Catalina Michaela of Austria**1582Hermitage Museum

**Infante Don Carlos (1545-1568)**1564Kunsthistorisches Museum

**Portrait of Juana of Austria, Princess of Portugal**1557Bilbao Fine Arts Museum