Perfection in a Portrait

There is a simple perfection in portraiture of the Renaissance that never tires. Always alive, always engaging, the best works possess a quality that seems almost otherworldly. Parmigianino’s “Schiava Turca,” on view for the first time in the United States at the Frick, is a single portrait of an unknown woman from almost 500 years ago which holds your attention so that, after looking at it for a while, you walk around but return to see it again.Displayed in the Oval Room with four other works, the painting dates from the 1530s and is in remarkable condition. Possessing the soft luster of a polished shell, its colors and tones are fresh and clear. The wonderful silhouette of the satin sleeves shimmer as a noticeably flush-cheeked Ms “Turca” smiles demurely, holding an ostrich-feather fan in her elongated fingers, ready to chat for a moment in-between whatever else she may have going on.The identity of the sitter remains, and may always remain, unknown. Some have suggested she was a poet, others that she is simply an “ideal type” that would have been desired by the men of the courts. The speculation needn’t concern us anyway, but it is interesting that the title, which translates as “Turkish Slave,” is the result of an unfortunate misinterpretation, dating from 1704, of her costume, turban, and ostrich feathers.She was not a slave at all but rather a women of high rank and prestige. What she wears is actually the fancy dress of the North Italian courts. The exotic-looking headdress was called a “balzo” and her’s depicts a small image of Pegasus, the symbol of “poesie,” flashing out in bright gold needlework like the rays of the sun.The entire painting possesses a high finish and smooth surface, with each color perfectly balanced against the next. Brushstrokes are carefully handled to depict the lightness of fine silk or the subtle iridescence of gold thread. Compare the slight difference in weight of the fabric on her right shoulder and the crisp ruffles of her left sleeve, like some strangely delicate flower that her hand extends from.Four other works, one by Parmigianino, round out this small exhibit. His “Portrait of a Man” is from a private collection and this is perhaps the only opportunity to see it. An intense, bearded individual wearing a dark tunic over long reddish-brown sleeves sits below a high window, lost in thought. He holds a book in his gloved left hand while saving his place with the finger of his right hand, finely shaped and reaching out from beneath a white ruffled cuff.Titian’s “Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap” and “Pietro Aretino,” along with Bronzino’s fantastic “Portrait of Lodovico Capponi,” all three from The Frick Collection, help place “Schiava Turca” in context. You can never get tired of seeing these and all together they feel like some grand 16th-century meet-up.Parmigianino was a bright light of Italian Mannerism, a style of elongated and disproportionate forms in contrast to the naturalistic, harmonious proportions of earlier Renaissance artists. His self-portrait at 21 shows an almost pretty young man, confident and talented beyond his years, who would quickly go on to be praised by Vasari and employed at the papal court of Clement VII. He struck early and burned brightly before dying of fever at the age of 37.“The Poetry of Parmigianino’s ‘Schiava Turca’” is on view through July 20, 2014, at The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street at Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10021. 212-288-0700, frick.org. More information about Mr. Bullock’s work can be found at bullockonline.com.

Perfection in a Portrait

Perfection in a Portrait

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