ALTDORFER, Albrecht
(b. ca. 1480, Regensburg, d. 1538, Regensburg)

Portrait of a Woman

c. 1522
Oil on panel, 59 x 45 cm
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Very few portraits by Altdorfer are known. In this painting the image of the woman is a strange one, despite the apparent normality of the sitter, who has the air of a countrywoman. The cold light which illuminates her and the contrast with the background, with its sketchy and barely decipherable shadows, contribute to this mood.