"Joan the Mad" is the common English name for Juana I de Castilla (also known as Joanna the Mad, Johanna "die Wahnsinnige", Juana la loca, and Joanna of Castile). She was the Queen of Castile and her husband was Philip the Handsome (due to his good looks). Their marriage was a political alliance between the Habsburgs and the Trastámaras. Joan was the daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. She was a well-educated princess, proficient in multiple languages, and skilled in various arts and sciences. She married Philip in 1496 and they had six children, including Charles V, who became Holy Roman Emperor. While she was known for her intelligence and education, she also faced accusations of madness. Historical accounts suggest she may have suffered from depression or other mental health issues, but some historians believe her "madness" was exaggerated by her father and husband to seize power ... which they did. Her life has been the subject of much historical debate and artistic representation, including the film "Mad Love" (2001). This portrait at the Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna by Flemish artist Juan de Flandes (aka John of Flanders) depicts the young royal with pale, almost porcelain-like skin, accentuated by soft lighting that illuminates her features. Her hair is a light reddish-blonde, pulled back neatly and styled in a low bun adorned with a floral ribbon. Her eyes are a light hazel, looking intently ahead with a calm and somewhat enigmatic expression. There is a subtle softness to her features that conveys youth and perhaps a touch of naiveté. Juana is dressed in an off-white garment with a low, square neckline. Ornate golden embroidery runs along and under the neckline and the edges of her sleeves. Over it is a darker reddish-brown bodice. A thin dark necklace adds another element of refinement to her attire. Her right hand rests near her chest, with her index finger lightly pointing upward, that adds a sense of poise.

Juana la loca (Joan the Mad) by Juan de Flandes (Flemish) - Oil on oak panel / c. 1500 - Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Austria) #WomenInArt #art #artText #artwork #portraitofawoman #royalty #FlemishArtist #JuandeFlandes #JohnofFlanders #queen #oilpainting #BlueskyArt #KunsthistorischesMuseum #1500s

A light-skinned woman, her thin hair tightly wrapped in a white scarf, looks forward with teary eyes and a toothless smile. The urban poor of Rome and the peasants of the neighboring countryside inspired Flemish artist Michael Sweerts during his stay in Italy in the mid-1600s. The practice of painting the lower classes was relatively new at the time, and pictures of the poor were often derisive caricatures. Sweerts treated his subject with compassion, vividly capturing the woman's inner beauty while accurately recording her external appearance: the loose skin, thinning hair, and wart on the left side of her face. Although the painting is highly finished, Sweerts's rich brushwork is evident in alternately blended and separated strokes of different shades, creating a strong sense of three-dimensional form. This brushwork is especially striking in the head scarf and the collar. Though a Flemish painter Michael Sweerts worked in Italy, Syria, and India. By the age of twenty-eight, Sweerts was living in Rome and was a member of the painters' academy there. In subsequent years, Sweerts worked as a representative at the papal customs house, collecting wool for a wealthy Antwerp merchant. At the age of thirty-eight, he returned to his native Brussels, where he founded an academy of drawing and joined the painters' guild. Almost all of Sweerts's existing paintings date from his time in Rome. Sweerts painted religious and secular works, but he is most noted for his realistic portraits like this one. His paintings exhibited his interest not only in the observation of daily life but also in the study of classical sculpture, which he pursued in Rome. Four years after returning to Brussels, Sweerts left again, this time to Asia as a missionary. In Aleppo, Syria, Sweerts painted and proselytized, but he was dismissed from the mission after only two years because of his unstable and undisciplined character. He eventually reached Goa, India, where he died two years later.

Head of a Woman by Michael Sweerts (Flemish) - Oil on panel / c. 1654 - Getty Museum (Los Angeles, California) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #womensart #MichaelSweerts #artwork #portraitofawoman #FlemishArtist #FlemishArt #oldage #GettyCenter #GettyMuseum #Sweerts #TheGetty #paintingofawoman