Santa Margherita d'Antiochia, Asta Sotheby's

A waist-length portrait of a woman with long, flowing hair and a serene, downward-looking expression. She holds a small wooden cross to her chest, and her garment is adorned with a jeweled brooch at the neckline. The scene is set against a soft landscape featuring thin, spindly trees and rolling hills, typical of the Florentine style.

Piero di Cosimo was a singular figure in the Florentine school, deeply influenced by the natural philosophy of Leonardo da Vinci and the Neoplatonic atmosphere of the Medici circle. This work exemplifies the 'Leonardesque' influence on religious portraiture, where the sitter's introspective gaze and the soft sfumato lighting reflect contemporary philosophical interests in the soul's inner state and the divine nature of beauty.