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Why Does This Lady Have a Fly on Her Head
About a painting — Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family.
Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family.
Portrait of a Woman of the Hofer Family is a painting by an unknown artist, dating to c. 1470, in the National Gallery, London collection.
Artist: Unknown. Year: c. 1470. Medium oil on silver fir. Dimensions: 53.7 cm × 40.8 cm (21.1 in × 16.1 in.)
Painting location: National Gallery, London, UK.
The woman is wearing a big white headdress with sharp, angular folds. It stands out against the dark background.
The shading around the folds makes them look deep, and the artist wants us to think that a fly, tricked by the drawing, is trying to land on the headdress.
The fly is part of the trick, which may be meant to show how good the artist is.
Using her slim fingers, the woman points to a bunch of forget-me-not flowers.
These flowers sometimes mean marriage, so maybe she’s being painted to celebrate an engagement.
But they also mean remembering.
Maybe the flowers are a way to ask people to remember her through this picture when she’s not there or even after she’s gone.
