Alberto Pio, lord of Carpi in Emilia, was born in 1475 & was an accomplished scholar. He spent most of his life outside his own domains, though he was recorded in Carpi in 1512, the year apparently inscribed on the painting. He died in exile in 1531. Ins ...

The sitter was town clerk of Landshut in Bavaria between 1464 & 1488. He is identified by the letter he holds, which is addressed to him. On his ring is the device of a moor's head, which may be a pun on the first syllable of his name. The background ag ...

On the basis of the inscription this painting has in the past been considered to be a portrait of the philosopher Descartes (1596
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The sitter has not been identified, but the dress has been thought to be that of a Venetian senator. The painting appears to have been made from a drawing which may be by Mantegna (Vienna, Albertina). ...

The younger woman is presumably the couple's daughter. She grasps the stem of a rose bush in her left hand while the older woman holds a peach. Jan Harmensz. Bijlert was born in Utrecht & he travelled to France & Italy. In Rome he was a founding member of the ' Bent', the society of Netherlandish painters. He returned to Utrecht in 1625 & became a prominent figure in the artists' guild there. He painted history scenes, genre subjects & portraits. ...

The painting may be the work of a Flemish artist, but there seem to be some stylistic connections with the work of the Middleburg artist, Pieter Borsseler (active 1665
- 1687). The costume is of the latter part of the 17th century. The sitter has not bee
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The sitter has not been identified. The dress suggests a date in the early 16th century. In the past it has been attributed to Giovanni Bellini, Gentile Bellini, School of Gentile Bellini, Titian, Giorgione, & Domenico Morone (?). ...

The sitter holds a book but looks out to engage the viwer's attention. He is well-dressed, wearing a fur-lined coat with a deep collar. The precise identity of the man in this arresting portrait is uncertain, however, the arms on his ring are those of the ...

Anna Maria van Schurman (1607
- 1678), was a Dutch poet & scholar. She was born in Cologne, but early in life moved to Utrecht
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This simple, direct portrait shows the artist’s mother, Anna Westerbaen. The features of the woman resemble her likeness in other paintings (see for example the posthumous double portrait with her husband in the National Gallery of Art, Washington) & her age – 52 in 1657 – conforms precisely with the painting’s inscription. The daughter of a rope maker from The Hague, Anna Westerbaen was the sister of the physician & poet Jacob Westerbaen & the portrait painter Jan Westerbaen. She married the painter, architect & poet Salomon de Bray in 1625 in The Hague & later moved to Haarlem, where she gave birth to at least ten children. Anna’s eldest son Jan depicted his mother a number of times in his paintings, but this is the only formal portrait. It possibly once had a pendant showing her husband Salomon. The portrait of her husband is now lost, but a drawing by Jan (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett), bearing the same date of 1657 & similar inscription stating the sitter’s age, seems to record the companion piece. ...