Portrait of Jane Bromley English School in the mid-17th century

Portrait of Jane Bromley, English School, oil painting on canvas from the mid-17th century, in good condition. A young woman depicted as a half-figure, identified as Jane Bromley, is painted wearing a widow's cap, which is worn during mourning.

This ancient work of the English school portrays a widow with an absent gaze, with a blue, ethereal appearance, devoid of background and context, in a plain and monastic attire adorned only with a brooch. Strands of dark hair peeking out from under the headpiece and the woman's complexion reveal her young age.

This ancient painting from the English school dates from the first half of the 17th century and comes from a private collection in Lombardy. It was purchased at auction by the London auction house Christie’s on February 28, 1936, lot no. 31. 70 (sold as John Riley, portrait of Lady Uvedale de Tompkyns). The painting is in good condition, framed in a wooden frame with pastiglia decorations and a mecca-style finish.

A similar painting can be viewed at the Fox Talbot Museum in Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, England, where it was loaned by the same Davenport family in 1993 - cataloged as English School.

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