Artwork
Portrait of a Woman
Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen. It dates from 1648 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting titled Portrait of a Woman, executed by Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen in 1648, depicts a single female sitter rendered in oil on canvas; the work functions as a conventional portrait that presents the sitter’s likeness without additional narrative elements. According to the documented record, the subject is identified only as a woman, and the composition follows the standard portrait genre of the period, emphasizing realistic representation rather than symbolic allegory. The piece is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued as a portrait of a woman, reflecting the artist’s practice of capturing elite sitters in a straightforward manner.
Technique & Style
The painting remains in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is preserved under standard museum handling conditions.
The Portrait of a Woman (1648) is executed in oil on canvas, a support noted in the work’s material description. Measuring 103.5 cm by 78.4 cm, the painting follows the standard portrait format and depicts a single female sitter. The artist, Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen, employed the customary brushwork of mid‑17th‑century Dutch portraiture, producing a naturalistic rendering of facial features and fine detail in the sitter’s attire.
The work’s formal composition reflects the realistic emphasis and modest grandeur typical of Dutch Golden Age portraiture. The painting remains in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is preserved under standard museum handling conditions.
History & Provenance
Portrait of a Woman is an oil-on-canvas painting dated 1648 and attributed to Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen. The work was created in that year and is presently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. While the specific circumstances of its commission and any earlier owners are not documented in the available sources, its provenance traces directly from the artist’s studio to its current institutional home.
The Portrait of a Woman (1648) by Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting, executed in oil on canvas, measures 103.5 by 78.4 centimeters. No specific accession number is recorded in the available documentation, nor is any exhibition history documented for the work.
Overview
Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen painted this Portrait of a Woman in 1648, an oil work characteristic of the Dutch Golden Age. The artist, an Anglo-Dutch figure, specialized in portraiture, a genre evident in this piece. It is currently housed within the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a significant example of his later career.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis Janssens (born Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen, Dutch:; bapt. 14 October 1593 – bur. 5 August 1661) was an Anglo-Dutch painter of portraits. Born of Dutch or Flemish parents who fled to London from Antwerp to…
- Portrait of a Woman
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