Jan Lievens, 'Portrait of Anna Maria van Schurman', 1649
About the work
Overview
Anna Maria van Schurman (1607–1678) was one of the most important thinkers of her day and the first woman in the Netherlands to attend university. She was well known in European intellectual circles, and was an accomplished artist, poet and linguist, as well as a passionate advocate of women’s rights to education.
In this portrait, Lievens focuses on her status as a writer. She sits upright and looks at us directly and confidently, modestly but expensively dressed in a fur wrap and chemise. He also portrays her in an active, not reflective, light. The book which she holds has, or at least appears to have, blank pages. So she is not reading, but about to write: her pen and inkstand stand ready before her on the oriental rug which covers her desk.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Portrait of Anna Maria van Schurman
- Artist
- Jan Lievens
- Artist dates
- 1607 - 1674
- Date made
- 1649
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 87 × 68.6 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated and inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by the Trustees of the British Museum, 1880
- Inventory number
- NG1095
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2008Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master RediscoveredNational Gallery of Art (Washington DC)26 October 2008 - 11 January 2009Milwaukee Art Museum7 February 2009 - 26 April 2009Museum Het Rembrandthuis17 May 2009 - 9 August 2009
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2012Seduced by Art: Photography Past and PresentThe National Gallery (London)31 October 2012 - 20 January 2013CaixaForum Barcelona21 February 2013 - 19 May 2013CaixaForum Madrid19 June 2013 - 15 September 2013
Bibliography
-
1920H. Kauffmann, 'Rembrandt und die Humanisten vom Muiderkring', Jahrbuch der Königlich Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, XLI, 1920, pp. 46-81
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1932H. Schneider, Jan Lievens: Sein Leben und seine Werke, Haarlem 1932
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1960Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
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1963H. van Hall, Portretten van Nederlandse beeldende kunstenaars, Amsterdam 1963
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1983B.-P. Keiser and R. Klessmann, Die holländischen Gemälde: Kritisches Verzeichnis mit 485 Abbildungen, Brunswick 1983
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1991Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
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1992M. de Baar (ed.), Anna Maria Van Schurman, 1607-1678: Een uitzonderlijk geleerde vrouw, Zutphen 1992
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1996M. de Baar (ed.), Choosing the Better Part: Anna Maria Van Schurman (1607-1678), Dordrecht 1996
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2007M. Brouwer, Vrouw van de Wereld: Het Leven van Anna Maria van Schurman (exh. cat. Museum Martena, 25 May - 1 October 2007), Franeker 2007
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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