A Renaissance portrait of a woman enters the Frick Collection for the first time.

For thefirst time in the history of the Frick Collection in New York, a painting depicting a woman from the Italian Renaissance has entered its permanent collection. Until now, in fact, portraits from that era held in the museum had only male subjects. The painting acquired is the Portrait of a Woman made by Giovanni Battista Moroni in 1575. It is also the first work by the artist to enter the museum collection.

The Portrait was donated to the museum by philanthropist Assadour Tavitian, who passed away in 2020; only a year earlier, the Frick Collection had dedicated an exhibition to Moroni, in which the painting in question was among the featured works.

“We had the pleasure of getting to know this portrait very well in 2019,” said museum director Ian Wardropper. "At the time, the portrait was considered one of Moroni’s finest in private hands. We are thrilled to now include it in our permanent collection thanks to the great generosity of Aso Tavitian."

Theidentity of the woman portrayed isnot known, but it is one of the fifteen portraits the artist made of a woman alone, seated, out of about one hundred and fifty portraits Moroni completed in his work as a painter.

“A masterpiece painted at the peak of the artist’s career; perfectly at home among the museum’s treasures,” commented Aimee Ng, co-curator of the 2019 exhibition.

The painting will be displayed in the museum’s temporary home at the Breuer Building, pending the completion of expansion work at the Frick Collection’s historic home.

Image: Giovanni Battista Moroni, Portrait of a Woman, detail (c. 1575; Frick Collection).

A Renaissance portrait of a woman enters the Frick Collection for the first time.

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