# Portrait of a Lady with a Book [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ANDREA DEL SARTO]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Oil on wood, 87 x 69 cm ## Commentary The young woman, shown in three-quarter view, is seated with her right arm on the back of the chair, while gazing out at the onlooker with a hint of an inviting smile. The dark background serves to highlight the wide-sleeved blue dress and white shirt, decorated with a floral pendant. She is holding a 'petrarchino', a printed copy of the Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarca, a very popular type of book in the 16th century, due to the small size that made it suitable for the private enjoyment of reading. We do not know the name of the woman. In this intense portrait, with its rich palette of blues, Andrea draws on the closest examples of portraiture, not only Florentine, from Raphael to the Venetians, such as Sebastiano del Piombo, or Lotto, from whom he takes the freer, more intimate style of interpretation. ## Related artworks - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation]() - [Assumption of the Virgin \(detail\)]() - [Assumption of the Virgin \(Poppi Altarpiece\)]() - [Assumption of the Virgin]() - [Assumption of the Virgin]() - [Baptism of the People]() - [Birth of the Virgin]() - [Charity]() - [Christ the Redeemer]() - [Disputation on the Trinity]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()