Skip to main content

Catharina van Hemessen, 'Portrait of a Man', possibly 1552

About the work

Overview

The Latin inscription in the top right corner names the painter: CATHARINA. FILIA /IOHANNIS DE HEMES/SEN PINGEBAT. 1552. (‘Catharina, daughter of Johannes de Hemessen was painting [this]. 1552.’). Catharina van Hemessen is the first woman artist from Flanders for whom we have a confirmed body of work.

We do not know the sitter’s identity, but he was clearly a wealthy man probably of noble birth, as the privilege of wearing a sword indicates. His belt has gold ornaments, and the pommel of his sword too is golden. He wears gold rings on his fingers – one set with a shield, quartered in red and blue – and another hangs from a chain around his neck. In the mid-sixteenth century it was relatively common for people to wear rings on necklaces, possibly as pledges of affection.

The pose – one hand on the hip and the other grasping the hilt of a sword – emulates portraits painted at the Habsburg courts in the 1540s. Catharina effectively channelled the monumentality and formality of such portraiture on a small scale.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Portrait of a Man
Artist dates
1527/8 - after 1566?
Date made
possibly 1552
Medium and support
oil on wood
Dimensions
36.2 × 29.2 cm
Inscription summary
Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit
Bought, 1878
Inventory number
NG1042
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

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