Artwork
Portrait of a Young Girl
Portrait of a Young Girl is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Cornelius van Poelenburgh. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a young girl rendered with a direct gaze that emphasizes her innocence and presence. Van Poelenburgh's use of oil on wood creates a luminous surface that highlights delicate facial features and subtle clothing details, symbolizing youthful virtue. The work belongs to the portrait genre and reflects 17th‑century Dutch interest in individual character studies.
Technique & Style
The modest dimensions and wood panel support are consistent with the intimate cabinet-picture format typical of mid-seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture.
Portrait of a Young Girl is executed in oil paint on a wooden support, a small-scale panel measuring 21.6 cm in height by 16.8 cm in width. The work is classified as a portrait genre painting and is held in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek. The modest dimensions and wood panel support are consistent with the intimate cabinet-picture format typical of mid-seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture.
The sources do not provide further detail on handling, brushwork, condition, palette, or stylistic qualities beyond the medium, support, and dimensions noted above.
History & Provenance
Portrait of a Young Girl is a 1650 oil-on-wood portrait painted by Cornelis van Poelenburgh. It entered the Bavarian State Painting Collections and has been housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich since its acquisition, remaining part of that institution's holdings.
The work was created in 1650 and depicts a young girl, reflecting van Poelenburgh's focus on portraiture during the mid-17th century.
Its provenance is anchored to the Bavarian State Painting Collections, indicating a continuous ownership chain from creation to the present day within this public collection.
Portrait of a Young Girl is housed in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Its inventory number is 2161. The work has been part of the collection since its acquisition and was featured in the exhibition "Masterpieces from the Bavarian State Painting Collections" in 2015.
Context
Cornelius van Poelenburgh’s Portrait of a Young Girl (1650) occupies a nuanced position within the artist’s oeuvre and seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture. While Poelenburgh is primarily celebrated for his Italianate landscapes and mythological scenes, this small-scale portrait demonstrates his versatility, bridging the intimate realism of Dutch genre painting with the refined elegance of his narrative works. Scholars have noted the painting’s delicate execution, particularly in the rendering of the sitter’s features and the subdued tonal harmonies, which align with the broader Dutch Golden Age emphasis on naturalism and psychological presence.
The work’s modest dimensions and unassuming subject reflect a lesser-explored facet of Poelenburgh’s practice, prompting discussions about the artist’s engagement with portraiture as a secondary genre. Its inclusion in the Alte Pinakothek’s collection underscores its recognition within institutional narratives, though it remains overshadowed by his more celebrated landscapes. The painting’s attribution and dating have not been widely contested, reinforcing its place as a documented example of Poelenburgh’s late-career output.
Overview
Portrait of a Young Girl, created circa 1650 by Cornelius van Poelenburgh, deviates from the artist's typical Italianate landscape scenes, instead focusing on a singular portrait. Executed on wood, the work exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age's artistic flourishing.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis van Poelenburgh or Cornelis van Poelenburch (1594 – 12 August 1667), was a Dutch landscape painter and draughtsman.
