Portrait of a Woman

Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder, c. 1490–95

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Artist: Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder (German)
Medium: Oil on wood
Size: Unframed: 30.3 x 21.3 cm (11 15/16 x 8 3/8 in.)
Culture: Germany
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

This portrait represents a woman in her later middle years holding a rosary made of coral with gold medals. Her identity remains unknown, but the richness and elegance of her black woolen gown with fur-trimmed cuffs and her coif of white sheer linen attest to her comfortable social standing. The prominence of her rosary is perhaps meant to suggest her personal devotion. The panel has been attributed to the anonymous Master of the Holy Kinship the Younger, a painter in Cologne (Germany) with a flourishing workshop in the years around 1500.