239. Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521), Italian,

Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci, c. 1480-1490.

Tempera on wood, 57 x 42 cm.

Musée Condé, Chantilly.

 

 

Here is one of the artist’s finest portraits. Simonetta Vespucci is depicted as Cleopatra with the asp around her neck. The snake, also being a symbol of immortality, reinforces the strange atmosphere of this work.