Unknown Italian (Florentine) Profile portrait of a lady c.1475 tempera and oil on wood panel 42.9 x 29.6 cm Felton Bequest 1946 1541-4		The profile portrait in both painting and sculpture became a major art form in fifteenth-century Florence. It was inspired by the depiction of heads on the coins and gems of classical antiquity, adapted with the high fashions of the time and stylised to appeal to the taste of the period. They were often produced to record the likeness of the sitter, to be passed on to a potential suitor, or kept for commemorative purposes. Attribution is problematic due to the popularity and prolific production of such works, although this example is of exceptional quality, indicating that it is by an experienced and talented artist. Dating the work is equally problematic and the early date of 1450 has been proposed.
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