View source for Porcia (Fra Bartolomeo)

{{Short description|Painting by Fra Bartolomeo}}
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[[File:Fra bartolomeo, porzia.jpg|thumb|''Porcia'' (c. 1490–1495) by Fra Bartolomeo]]
'''''Porcia''''' is an oil-on-panel painting of Brutus' wife [[Porcia (wife of Brutus)|Porcia]] painted c. 1490–1495 by the Italian artist [[Fra Bartolomeo]], now in the [[Uffizi]] in [[Florence]]. It forms a pair with ''[[Minerva (Fra Bartolomeo)|Minerva]]'', now in the [[Louvre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/inv1890/scheda.asp?position=1&ninv=8310&suffisso=|title=Catalogue entry|language=it}}
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The painting left the Uffizi during the First World War to be stored safely elsewhere. From 1925 onwards it was displayed in the Italian Embassy in [[Washington, DC]], Finally it was returned to Italy in 1992 to be exhibited in the Hall of [[Michelangelo]] the Florentines of the early 16th century, in the Uffizi.<ref>{{in lang|it}}Serena Padovani (ed.), ''Fra' Bartolomeo e la scuola di San Marco'', Marsilio, Venezia 1996.</ref>
==Description and style==
From a niche appears Porcia, the daughter of [[Cato the Younger]]. She can be recognized by the burning coals at her feet, because she killed herself by swallowing hot coals after the defeat of her husband, [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], at the [[Battle of Philippi]] on 42 BC. The painting was meant to be part of a series dedicated to illustrious women, perhaps destined to decorate the room of a private palace.
The figure sways to the left, pointing to a probable pendant to the right. The large drapery, which falls with large and solemn folds, increases the sense of volume, as does the placement in the niche, usually reserved for statuary.<ref>{{in lang|it}}Serena Padovani (ed.), ''Fra' Bartolomeo e la scuola di San Marco'', Marsilio, Venezia 1996.</ref>
==References==
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{{Fra Bartolomeo}}
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[[Category:1490s paintings]]
[[Category:Paintings in the Uffizi]]
[[Category:Paintings by Fra Bartolomeo]]
[[Category:Portraits of women]]