Wikipedia

Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family

Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family is a painting by an unknown artist, dating to c. 1470, in the collection of the National Gallery, London.[1]

Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family
ArtistUnknown
Yearc. 1470
Mediumoil on silver fir
Dimensions53.7 cm × 40.8 cm (21.1 in × 16.1 in)
LocationNational Gallery, London, UK

The painting depicts an unknown woman of the Hofer family, holding forget-me-nots in one hand, wearing a black fabric item of clothing and with a “copious white veil”, upon which sits a black fly. The painting is a memento mori, and the addition of the fly “is a proof of the anonymous artist's gifts too: a guarantee of the realism and fidelity of the portrait.” [1] The presence of the forget-me-nots suggests the painting may have been used to commemorate an engagement, as the flowers typically symbolized marriage, but could also symbolize remembrance, "perhaps to the immortality of the person portrayed."[2] The presence of the fly on her head is said to represent the "impermanence" of life, reminding the viewer "that we’re supposed to do the best we can with the time we’ve got".[3]

The history of the painting is not known before coming into the collection of the National Gallery; it was purchased by the Prince Consort who gifted it to Queen Victoria in 1863. Victoria then gifted it to the nation, and it is now held in the Gallery.[4][5]

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References

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  1. ^ a b Cumming, Laura (February 23, 2014). "Strange Beauty: Masters of the German Renaissance – review". The Guardian. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  2. ^ Makowiecky, Sandra (May 2021). "No sofá com Huizinga: Autorretrato crítico assumindo a obra de arte como terreno da reflexão estética". Palíndromo (in Portuguese). 13 (30): 127–147. doi:10.5965/2175234613302021127. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Hickson, Sally (October 9, 2020). "Mike Pence's fly: From Renaissance portraits to Salvador Dalí, artists used flies to make a point about appearances". The Conversation Canada. Yahoo News. Retrieved September 29, 2023. Flies have long held symbolic meaning in the history of art. In portraits made in Renaissance Europe, the presence of a fly symbolizes the transience of human life (buzzbuzzpfft!). In the great scheme of things, our lives are no longer than that of a fly. For me as an art historian, the fly was a moment to reflect not only on the history of flies in western painting, but to begin considering what the long history of this symbolism may reveal about why the fly generated so much buzz.
  4. ^ "PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN OF THE HOFER FAMILY , SWABIAN SCHOOL ". Country Life. Vol. 135. 1964. p. 75. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  5. ^ Francesca Whitlum-Cooper. "Why does this lady have a fly on her head?". National Gallery. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
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