Portrait of a Young Lady

Description

The youthful subject of this portrait is bedecked in jewelry that features gold, gems, and pearls, much of which would have been imported from the Americas and the South Pacific in the early 17th century. Paulus Moreelse, who worked in Utrecht, specialized in court portraiture. The exceptional richness of this unknown woman’s dress—the intricate openwork of her lace collar and the spectacular oversized brooch—suggests that she was part of the court of the House of Orange-Nassau and thus belonged to the country’s elite.

Provenance

Arnold van Buuren, by 1925; his sale, Mak, Amsterdam, May 26, 1925, lot 92, for 2,000 guilders [price according to Cicerone 1925]. Max Epstein (died 1954), Chicago, by 1928 [see Epstein 1928]; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1954.

Portrait of a Young Lady

Paulus Moreelse

c. 1620

Accession Number

80539

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

71.5 × 57.4 cm (28 1/8 × 22 5/8 in.); Framed: 88.3 × 74.3 × 8.9 cm (34 3/4 × 29 1/4 × 3 1/2 in.)

Classification

oil on panel

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Max and Leola Epstein Collection