Framed and Colored Grand Tour Chromolithograph of a Renaissance Portrait of a Young Woman after the Castello Nativity Master

Framed and Colored Grand Tour Chromolithograph of a Renaissance Portrait of a Young Woman after the Castello Nativity Master

After Piero di Lorenzo di Pratese
Florence, Italy

Approximate size: 18.5”H x 13.5”W x 1.5”D

This chromolithograph is a late-19th-century “Grand Tour” souvenir, mounted on board and finished with a heavy, lacquered glaze designed to mimic the texture and patina of an authentic Renaissance oil painting.

It is a faithful reproduction of a significant panel painting, Portrait of a Young Woman, now preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. 49.7.6). The original is attributed to the anonymous Castello Nativity Master, more recently identified by scholars as Piero di Lorenzo di Pratese.

The historical context of the object reveals persistent misconceptions. A recent label on the reverse of this Grand Tour object attributes the original painting to Paolo Uccello (an old attribution of the original) and mistakenly identifies the sitter as Elizabetta (Montefeltro) Gonzaga whose likeness is not at all consistent with her confirmed portraits. It is more likely the painting depicts a member of the Florentine Olivieri family. If this is the case, the panel may have originally served as a pendant, paired with a profile portrait of either Michele or Matteo Olivieri (also attributed to the same master), forming a traditional set of painted marriage portraits—a key Florentine practice. This female portrait is historically crucial, representing one of the earliest surviving examples of the genre from the Italian Renaissance.

This lithograph holds unique documentary value: it reproduces the fine embroidery on the sitter’s garment; a magnificent detail now entirely lost on the original painting at the MET. This feature was destroyed after 1892 due to a period of "careless and excessive overcleaning" while the panel was in the collection of Robert Stayner Holford in Britain. Therefore, this Italian-made chromolithograph must have been created before that destructive restoration date.

Condition commensurate with age. Very minor chips along the extremities of the frame, revealing small amounts of the white plaster ground.

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