Description
Maerten van Heemskerck lived in Rome for four years (1532–36) and was deeply affected by the city's art and antiquities. Here, the half-length, seated figure, the tense yet elegant hands, and even the grotesque classical mask reflect the impact of that experience, while the love of meticulously represented textures is traditionally associated with northern European art. Machtelt Suijs married Dirick van Teijlingen in 1535 and lived in Alkmaar (the Netherlands), where Heemskerck must have painted her. The coat-of-arms that hangs from the mask combines family emblems, indicating that her portrait must have been accompanied by one (now lost) of her husband.
Provenance
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1987-); (Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, and Bruno Meissner, Zurich, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1987); (Nouveau Drouot, Paris, sale, March 17, 1987, no. 147, sold to Thomas Agnew and Bruno Meissner) (1987); Private collection, Tournai (?), Belgium (Possibly until 1987); Dirick [1512-1578] and Machtelt van Teijlingen [d. after 1581], Alkmaar, Holland (c. 1540/1545-after 1581)
Accession Number
1987.136
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
Framed: 107 x 97 x 8 cm (42 1/8 x 38 3/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 85 x 74 cm (33 7/16 x 29 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Tags
Painting Renaissance (1400–1599) Oil Painting Dutch
Background & Context
Background Story
Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574) was a Dutch painter known for the precisely observed, characterfully composed portraits and historical paintings that make him one of the most accomplished painters of the Northern Renaissance. Portrait of Machtelt Suijs from c. 1540-45 depicts Machtelt Suijs in the precisely observed, characterfully composed manner that distinguishes Heemskerck's best portrait work from the more general portraiture of his contemporaries. Heemskerck was known for his precisely observed, characterfully composed portraits that capture the personality and status of his sitters with remarkable precision, and the c. 1540-45 portrait shows his talent for combining precise observation with characterful composition.
Cultural Impact
Portrait of Machtelt Suijs is important in the history of Northern Renaissance portraiture because it demonstrates the precisely observed, characterfully composed manner that Heemskerck brought to portraiture as one of the most accomplished painters of the Northern Renaissance. Heemskerck's precisely observed, characterfully composed portraits—capturing the personality and status of his sitters with remarkable precision—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Northern Renaissance portraiture, and the c. 1540-45 portrait shows this tradition at its most precisely observed.
Why It Matters
Portrait of Machtelt Suijs is Heemskerck's precisely observed Northern Renaissance portrait: Machtelt Suijs depicted in the characterfully composed manner of one of the most accomplished painters of the Northern Renaissance. The c. 1540-45 portrait shows the precise observation that makes Heemskerck's portraiture distinctive.
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