Masterfully portrait of a young  lady in a dress decorated with Iris was executed in 1919 by important Italian portrait painter of high society Vittorio Matteo Corcos (1859 in Livorno - 1933 Florence).

Corcos came from a Jewish family in Livorno and later attended the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, where he was trained by Enrico Pollastrini.

Between 1878 and 1879, he studied in Naples under Domenico Morelli, who influenced his painting style. In 1880, he moved to Paris, where he signed a fifteen-year partnership with the art dealership Goupil & Cie. There he met Vincent van Gogh, who worked for Goupil. Corcos also frequented the studio of the history and portrait painter Léon Bonnat, known for his portraits of women from Parisian society, whose painting style inspired him. The French Impressionist artists influenced his painting, as did Giovanni Boldini and Giuseppe de Nittis, who were of Italian descent.

By 1881, 1882, and 1885, Corcos had become so well-known that his paintings were exhibited at the Paris Salon. In 1886, Corcos returned to Italy, settled in Florence and participated in an exhibition in Livorno that same year, where painters from the Macchiaioli group and other regional art schools were also represented. In 1887, he converted to Catholicism and married Emma Ciabatti, the widow Rotigliano, in Florence. She introduced him to distinguished literary circles, where he met figures such as Carducci and Gabriele D’Annunzio.

In 1881, Corcos was already so well-known that his paintings were exhibited at the Paris Salon. Corco's portraiture earned him an excellent reputation. In 1904, he painted portraits in Germany of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his wife, other high-ranking German figures, as well as portraits of Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal, and Marguerite de Savoy, Queen of Italy.

In 1913, his self-portrait was added to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

He also painted portraits of Mussolini (1928), Countess Annina Morosini, Countess Nerina Volpi di Misurata, Giosuè Carducci, Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni.

Literature: Art lexicons in German, French and Italian by: Thieme/Becker; Saur; Bénézit;  Comanducci; Carlo Sisi : Vittorio Corcos : il fantasma e il fiore : [mostra, Livorno, Museo Civico; Ilaria Taddei, Fernando Mazzocca, Carlo Sisi: Corcos: i sogni della Belle Époque, Marsilio, 2014.

Inscription: signed and dated:  V. Corcos 19-X-1919, in the middle left.

Technique: oil on canavas, painted in oval, magnificent original period gilt frame. 

Measurements: unframed w 21 1/4" x h 25 3/4" (54 x 65,5 cm), framed 28 1/3" x 38 1/3" ( 72 x 97,5 cm).

Condition: painting is in very good condition, no any inpaintings or retouchings, frame is in good condition too.