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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

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

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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