Portrait of a Woman

Lucas Cranach the Elder

National Gallery of Art

Shown from the lap up, a pale-skinned woman looks off to the left in front of a vivid green background in this vertical portrait painting. The woman’s whole body angles to the left as she gazes in that direction with gray eyes under faint brows. Her nose is indented on the long side, and her thin pink lips are closed in a line. Her strawberry-blond hair is pulled back over her left ear, to our right, and is otherwise hidden under a wide, floppy black cap. A glint of gold at the top of the hat could be her hair or a brooch or decoration. Her tightly fitting black bodice has a high collar. Her arms rest by her sides, and the sleeves are wine red. A belt around her narrow waist is laced with black on an orange band at the front, and a section below has a crosshatched pattern painted with delicate black lines on golden yellow. The woman is lit from our left and casts a darker green shadow on the lime-green background. The top and left edges of the panel are also lined with darker green.