BALDOVINETTI, Alessio
(b. ca.1425, Firenze, d. 1499, Firenze)

Portrait of a Lady in Yellow

c. 1465
Tempera and oil on panel, 63 x 41 cm
National Gallery, London

Baldovinetti's profile portrait of an unknown Florentine woman expresses patrician Quattrocento elegance. She is posed in the conventional profile view that is used almost without exception for female portraits until the end of the century, long after male sitters are shown turned toward the observer.