Artwork
Portrait of a Woman
Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Cornelis de Vos. It dates from 1600 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work titled Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting created on a wooden panel, a support typical of late-16th- and early-17th-century portraiture.
The work titled Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting created on a wooden panel, a support typical of late-16th- and early-17th-century portraiture. The painting was executed in oil paint, as recorded in the documentary record, and measures roughly 125.4 cm in height by 96.5 cm in width. It belongs to the portrait genre, depicting a solitary female sitter, and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
These material and formal characteristics reflect the artist's technical approach of applying oil pigments to a rigid wooden ground, a method that yields a smooth surface and rich color modulation characteristic of Cornelis de Vos's portrait style.
History & Provenance
Portrait of a Woman, executed by the Flemish painter Cornelis de Vos, was completed in 1600. The work is an oil painting on panel. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains located.
The sources do not provide further detail on the circumstances of its commission, the identity of the original patron, or the chain of ownership prior to its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Context
Portrait of a Woman (1600) by Cornelis de Vos exemplifies the late-Renaissance portrait tradition in the Southern Netherlands. Executed in oil on panel, the work measures 125.4 × 96.5 cm and depicts an unidentified sitter, reflecting the genre's emphasis on individual likeness and status. Its inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection underscores the painting's significance within de Vos's oeuvre, which contributed to the development of portraiture that blended naturalistic rendering with subtle psychological nuance.
Scholarship on de Vos highlights this piece as a representative example of his style, situating it at the transition between late Mannerist influences and the emerging Baroque sensibility.
Overview
Cornelis de Vos, a prominent Flemish artist of the early 17th century, created Portrait of a Woman in 1600. This oil painting exemplifies the Flemish Baroque style, depicting an unidentified female sitter. De Vos was highly regarded in Antwerp for his skill in capturing individual likenesses, particularly within family and child portraits. The work is now held in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a woman in formal, opulent attire, indicative of her social standing. She wears a black velvet gown adorned with intricate gold embroidery and a high, stiff white lace collar. A long strand of pearls encircles her neck, complementing her elegant appearance.
One hand rests upon a red chair, while the other delicately holds a small fan, suggesting a pose of refined composure and wealth.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis de Vos (1584 - 9 May 1651) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and art dealer.
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