Lot 1019 Dα

This portrait was purchased in the 19th century in Florence but long housed in an old English family collection, where it was formerly considered to be an early example of the œuvre of the Utrecht based painter Antonis Mor. However, the piece was convincingly attributed to the Antwerp painter Adriaen Thomasz Key at the time of its sale in London in 2012. Koenraad Jonckheere has since recognised the work as an original. The 36-year-old woman depicted in a high-necked black gown with a vivid white lace-trimmed bonnet is thought to be a member of a wealthy, and presumably Protestant, Antwerp burgher family. Key was the most sought-after portrait painter in the city on the Schelde throughout the 1570s and 1580s. His works are characterised by their sober, almost photographic style, of which this newly discovered piece represents an excellent example.