26. Surroundings of the Master of Female Half-Figures (active Antwerp 1530-1540) Vanitas with a lute player and a bearded man holding a skull oil on panel oil on panel 51 x 67.5cm (20 1/16 x 26 9/16in). Provenance Private collection, Spain The present lot follows the Master of the Female Half-lengths' distinctive approach to moralising portraiture. It depicts a young woman playing a lute, accompanied by traditional Vanitas symbols - a skull and a mirror - underscoring the transience of life and the futility of earthly pleasures. A work by the Master of the Female Half-lengths of this vanitas type can be found in the example offered at sold at Christie's London on 5 July 2007, A Vanitas with a Lady Playing a Lute and a Man Holding a Skull and a Mirror.