A Mysterious Woman at the Frick

The Italian Mannerist* painter Parmigianino's Antea, regarded among the most important portraits of the Italian Renaissance, goes on public view at The Frick Collection in Manhattan today. Antea's defining feature, much like Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, is her "compelling psychological presence." In layman's terms, this means that Parmigianino has rendered her so that she engages the viewer with her straightforward gaze and has included vivid descriptive detail, the result of which is that what we see (or think we see) is an image of a real person.

This may or may not be true. No one really knows who Parmigianino's subject is, but there are some theories. One goes that she is the well-known 16th century Roman courtesan Antea, who served as the artist's mistress. While it's this theory that inspired the name of the painting, it's widely regarded as inaccurate. Another speculates that the woman is Parmigianino's daughter — but there's no record of the artist having a child. A handful of others have been postulated and more or less rejected, leaving us with the leading assumption that she's probably the manifestation of Parmigianino's conception of ideal beauty, executed without the modern conveniences of plastic surgery or Photoshop.

* Quick art history lesson: Mannerism is an artistic style of the 16th century characterized by elongated forms — one of Parmigianino's most famous works is, indeed, titled Madonna With the Long Neck — contrived poses, and acidic hues.

Parmigianino (1503 - 1540), Antea, c. 1531 - 1534, Oil on canvas, 136 x 86 cm, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples