Portrait of a Woman Holding a Mask

Born in Bologna, Giuseppe Maria Crespi was influenced by the Venetian painting tradition. He copied frescoes by the Carracci and traveled to Emilia and Venice, studying works by Titian, Corregio, and Veronese. Later in life, Pope Benedict XIV, a patron and former Archbishop of Bologna, conferred a knighthood on the artist. Throughout his career, Crespi painted a number of half-length portraits of girls, who often held flowers. In this portrait, the woman holds a narcissus and mask. Though invented in Venice, such masks were produced in Bologna and worn on festive occasions. The narcissus and mask, symbolic of self-absorption and deceit, add a moralizing tone.