Artwork
Portrait of a Woman
Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Corneille de Lyon. It dates from 1540 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil on a wooden panel, a common support for sixteenth-century portraiture in the Netherlands and France.
The work is executed in oil on a wooden panel, a common support for sixteenth-century portraiture in the Netherlands and France. The panel measures approximately 16.5 cm in height by 14.8 cm in width, as recorded in the museum’s cataloguing data. In keeping with Corneille de Lyon’s manner, the small-scale portrait presents the sitter’s head and shoulders against a plain ground, with carefully observed facial features and a restrained palette. The intimate format is characteristic of the artist’s refined court portraits.
History & Provenance
The Portrait of a Woman by Corneille de Lyon is dated to 1540, consistent with the artist’s known active period. The work entered the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1942 as accession number 1942.48, where it remains in the permanent collection. No documented commission or early provenance prior to its twentieth-century acquisition is recorded in available sources; its early history is therefore unattested. It has no recorded loans or documented appearances in major traveling exhibitions in standard museum records.
Overview
This painting, titled Portrait of a Woman, was created by Corneille de Lyon in 1540. Executed on wood, this work is a characteristic example of the artist's portraiture from the period. It features an unidentified female sitter, presented with notable detail and a sense of composure.
The artwork is presently part of the collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art, where it offers insight into 16th-century portrait conventions.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a woman with red hair, her gaze directed outward. She is dressed in a black gown adorned with elaborate gold embroidery, complemented by a white and gold headband featuring pearls. A pearl necklace and earrings further enhance her sophisticated appearance, with her hair styled neatly in an updo. The overall presentation conveys an impression of refined elegance, typical of portraits for the period's gentry.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Corneille de Lyon was a Dutch painter of portraits who was active in Lyon, France, from 1533 until his death. In France and the Netherlands he is also still known as Corneille de La Haye after his birthplace, The Hague.
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