Master of the Female Half-Lengths

The Master of the Female Half-Lengths was an anonymous artist, or possibly a workshop of painters, active in the Netherlands during the second quarter of the 16th century, probably in Antwerp. The name was established by art historians to identify a group of similar paintings, particularly depictions of young women reading, writing, or playing musical instruments. The artist's attributed production also includes religious scenes and landscapes, showing influences from Ambrosius Benson, Adriaen Isenbrandt, and Joachim Patinir. The large number of works and their stylistic differences suggest that several were produced by different painters working in the same workshop.