Style of Anthony van Dyck, 'Portrait of a Woman', after 1635
About the work
Overview
The identity of this brown-eyed woman who sits for what may be an engagement or marriage portrait remains a mystery. She is probably aristocratic and is clearly wealthy – the many pearls strung around her neck and over her shoulders, and the two large tear-drop pearls of her earrings, are showily expensive, as are the gold-set precious stones in her hair and the large broach at her breast.
The portrait itself has been commissioned from an artist of some skill – another testimony to the wealth and status of her family. In the nineteenth century it was attributed to Van Dyck, but it is now thought to be a copy of a work by him, although no original has been traced. The style of her dress and its extravagant silk and satin wings suggests a date in the 1630s. A portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria of England by Van Dyck, dating to about 1637 (private collection), shows her in a similar costume.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Portrait of a Woman
- Artist
- Style of Anthony van Dyck
- Artist dates
- 1599 - 1641
- Date made
- after 1635
- Medium and support
- oil on copper
- Dimensions
- 59.7 × 47.2 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Layard Bequest, 1916
- Inventory number
- NG3132
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Prince de Beauvau sale, Paris, 21 April, 1865 (4) bt. Sir Austen Henry Layard († 1894), by whom bequeathed with a life interest to his widow († 1912), 1916; An Exhibition of Cleaned Pictures, The National Gallery, 1947/8 (88).
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Gregory Martin, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School: circa 1600–circa 1900’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1895G. Lafenestre and E. Richtenberger, Venise, Paris 1895
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1912A. Venturi, 'La formazione della Galleria Layard a Venezia', L'arte, XV, 1912, pp. 449-62
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1970G. Martin, The Flemish School, circa 1600-circa 1900, London 1970
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1973M. Jaffé, [Review] 'National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School ca. 1600-ca. 1900 by Gregory Martin; Flemish Paintings and Drawings at 56 Princes Gate London, Addenda by Antoine Seilern', Art Bulletin, vol. 55, no. 3 (Sep.), 1973, pp. 462-4
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1986Martin, Gregory, National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School, circa 1600 - circa 1900, London 1986
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1987I. Favaretto, 'La Collezione Layard: Storia, Formazione e Vicende', in F.M. Fales and B.J. Hickey (eds), Austen Henry Layard tra l'Oriente e Venezia, Rome 1987, pp. 227-36
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2014C. Riva, 'La collezione Layard nel catalogo dattiloscritto 1896', Predella, XXXV, 2014, pp. 53-78
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.
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