two mysterious gazes

thanks wikimedia commons (PD:old)

Well, and who might you be?  In this oil on panel Portrait of a Lady by the workshop of Alessandro Allori (1535-1607) it's the dog with the sharpest gaze of inquiry.   Funny, the lady herself is shown with a modest, gentle reserve, though her hands seem taut and nervy.  I think perhaps the spaniel, a self-assured and frankly seductive creature, may embody the lady's true personality.  Just a hunch I get. Allori himself was a late Mannerist painter, a style that generally opted for surface perfection rather than emotional qualities. You definitely see the former here; but whichever member of the Allori studio turned his hand to this could not resist the dog.  Nor can I.