A Lady with Three Suitors

Description

This mysterious drawing shows an encounter between elegantly dressed members of the noble class. The French inscription above the image suggests that the woman is addressing her suitors and makes it clear that they are concerned with the pursuit of love: He who will conquer my love / This [barrier] must overcome / Neither destroying it nor loosening it / Going neither below it nor above. The style of the clothing reflects French court fashions during the reign of Charles VIII (1483–98), and the subject relates to the tradition of late medieval collections of love riddles that involved verbal exchanges between courtly ladies and gentlemen.

Provenance

Antonio Badile II [1424-1507], Verona (?-probably by 1507); Ludovico Moscardo, Verona (?-?); Teresa Moscardo [1747-?], Verona, by descent (?-?); Count Mario Miniscalchi-Erizzo [1881-1957], Verona, by descent (?-around 1905); with Francis Matthiesen, London (around 1954-1956); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1956-)

A Lady with Three Suitors

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c. 1500

Accession Number

1956.40

Medium

pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, with traces of black chalk

Dimensions

Sheet: 23 x 19.3 cm (9 1/16 x 7 5/8 in.)

Classification

Drawing

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund