Léonard Limosin - Dido - Walters 44240

Dido is represented as the full-face bust portrait of a woman staring with a vacant expression. She wears a gold-brown tiara with a green cabochon (translucent green enamel on foil). Her dark blonde hair is parted and bound in a white falling veil. Her garment consists of a gold-brown cuirass, with a necklace of pearls, rubies and emeralds and a jeweled pendant featuring a large red stone. The jewel-like effect of these ornaments is produced by drops of white and translucent enamels on foils. She wears a purple mantle draped over her right shoulder. The staring formality and coldness of Dido suggest that as early as 1540 Léonard Limosin may have had knowledge of portraits painted by Agnolo Bronzino. It could also reflect Dido's melancholy when Aeneas abondonned her.
A companion plaque of Dido's lover, Aeneas, the founder of Rome, also belongs to the Walters collection (Walters 44.239).