Who painted Portrait of a Lady?

Portrait of a Lady was painted by Follower of Louis Michel Van Loo in 18th century.

Where can I see Portrait of a Lady?

Portrait of a Lady is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Portrait of a Lady?

Portrait of a Lady is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

Portrait of a Lady

Follower of Louis Michel Van Loo , 1750

Portrait of a Lady is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Follower of Louis Michel Van Loo. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The composition follows conventional eighteenth-century portrait conventions, presenting the figure in a dignified pose without overt symbolic attributes.

The painting, titled Portrait of a Lady, shows a solitary woman rendered in oil on canvas in 1750. The sitter is identified only as a woman; no specific individual or allegorical figure is named in the documentation. The work belongs to the portrait genre and was created by an anonymous hand, though it was once attributed to Louis-Michel van Loo, a claim noted in the National Gallery of Art curatorial files.

Its provenance traces from Julius Böhler in Munich to Lewis Einstein, who donated it to the NGA in 1953. The composition follows conventional eighteenth-century portrait conventions, presenting the figure in a dignified pose without overt symbolic attributes.

Technique & Style

The Portrait of a Lady is an oil painting on canvas, measuring approximately 56 cm by 46.5 cm, created around 1750. It portrays a woman and is classified as a portrait. The work was formerly attributed to the French artist Louis-Michel van Loo, an attribution recorded by the dealer Julius Böhler and noted in the correspondence of Lewis Einstein, who gifted the piece to the National Gallery of Art in 1953, but the museum now lists the artist as unknown. The painting consists of oil paint applied to a canvas support, typical of mid-eighteenth-century portraiture.

History & Provenance

The painting's provenance traces through the Munich and Lucerne dealer Julius Böhler, who sold it in 1929 to Lewis Einstein (1877–1967) of Paris. Einstein later told the National Gallery of Art that he had purchased the work in Munich and that Böhler had attributed it to Louis-Michel van Loo. In 1953, Einstein gave the portrait to the National Gallery of Art, where it remains.

The work is dated to 1750 and is classified as by an unknown artist, despite the earlier attribution to van Loo. Its accession is recorded as a 1953 gift, though an explicit inventory number is not provided in the cited records, and exhibition history is not documented in the available sources.

Overview

This oil on canvas, titled "Portrait of a Lady," depicts a woman seated within an interior space. Dressed in period clothing, her demeanor appears composed and serene. The artist employed a restrained color palette to render the subject.

While details about the painter remain scarce, the artwork offers valuable insight into historical attire and the conventions of portraiture from its era.