Portrait of a Woman, said to be Simonetta Vespucci
Meet Simonetta Vespucci, the supermodel of 15th-century Florence, painted here by Piero di Cosimo long after her tragic death at age 22. She sports an incredibly elaborate hairstyle woven with pearls and ribbons, looking like a Renaissance queen in profile. The snake necklace draped over her bare chest is a total head-scratcher—some say it references Cleopatra (fitting for a beauty who died young), while others see it as a symbol of prudence! The Latin inscription at the bottom basically puts her name in lights, reminding us she was the real-life muse for Botticelli’s famous *Birth of Venus*.
Location: Musée Condé, Chantilly
Views: 3