Circle of Anthonis Mor van Dashorst (Utrecht 1516/20-?1576 Antwerp)

This small roundel is an exquisitely painted portrait by an artist evidently familiar with the work of Anthonis Mor, one of the most influential portraitists of his generation. As court painter to Philip II of Spain, he portrayed members of the most powerful ruling elite in sixteenth-century Europe, with his travels across the continent leaving a significant and international artistic impact, particularly in Italy, Spain, Portugal and England.

The artist of the present picture evidently looked to assimilate many of the characteristic attributes of Mor’s style, such as the distinctive three-quarter profile, the careful observation of this sitter’s features and the precise modelling of the face and ruff. The costume, with a high-collared black doublet and small ruff, was typical of fashionable attire in the second half of the sixteenth century. The small scale of the painting suggests that the portrait was painted to be given or exchanged with a personal friend or acquaintance. Such practice was relatively common at the time and often used as a significant part of marriage negotiations or as a gift in the case of a prolonged absence as a memorandum.