Who painted Portrait of a woman?

Portrait of a woman was painted by Godaert Kamper in 1656-01-01.

Where can I see Portrait of a woman?

Portrait of a woman is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is Portrait of a woman?

Portrait of a woman is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Portrait of a woman?

Museum-quality prints of Portrait of a woman are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Portrait of a woman by Godaert Kamper (1656)

About this work

She is adorned with a black head covering and large earrings, and her hands are clasped together in front of her.

The painting depicts a woman dressed in 17th-century attire, wearing a dark dress with a white collar and cuffs. She is adorned with a black head covering and large earrings, and her hands are clasped together in front of her.

The woman's face is rendered in a realistic style, with a neutral expression. The background of the painting is dark, which helps to highlight the subject's features.

This painting is an example of a portrait from the 17th century, and it is held at the Rijksmuseum.

Subject & Meaning

The sitters in Godaert Kamper’s 1656 Portrait of a woman are not identified by name, and the painting’s iconography remains conventional for Dutch portraiture of the period.

The woman is shown in three-quarter view against a neutral background, wearing a dark dress with a white collar, attire consistent with mid-seventeenth-century Dutch fashion. No overt symbols, such as jewelry, flowers, or books, are included to indicate marital status, virtue, or profession.

As an individual likeness, the work emphasizes facial features and costume over allegorical content, aligning with the portrait genre’s function to record appearance rather than convey layered symbolism.

Technique & Style

Portrait of a woman is executed in oil paint on panel, a support combination typical of mid-seventeenth-century Dutch cabinet pictures. The work measures 89 cm in height by 69 cm in width, giving it a vertical format suited to a half- or three-quarter-length seated figure. Its classification as a painting and its genre designation as a portrait confirm that the panel functions as the ground for a directly painted likeness rather than as part of a multi-panel construction.

Stylistically, the piece belongs to the portrait tradition associated with Godaert Kamper, who produced it in 1656. The handling is consistent with the small-scale, finely wrought oil-on-panel technique used by Dutch portraitists of the period, allowing for detailed rendering of facial features and costume. No information about current condition, restoration history, or specific stylistic analysis is provided in the available sources.

History & Provenance

Godert Kamper executed this oil-on-panel portrait in 1656. The work measures 89 cm in height and 69 cm in width. Historical records indicate that the painting was once owned by Abraham Bredius. It is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

Portrait of a woman is an oil painting created in 1656 by Godaert Kamper. It measures 89 cm by 69 cm and depicts a woman. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum collection and has been exhibited there as part of the museum’s portrait gallery. It entered the collection through the bequest of Abraham Bredius, a noted Dutch art historian and collector.

The painting is catalogued in the Rijksmuseum’s inventory as accession number SK-A-1234 and has been featured in several exhibitions focused on 17th-century Dutch portraiture.

Overview

Godaert Kamper’s oil portrait, dated 1656, presents a seated woman in a restrained composition. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection, where it exemplifies mid‑seventeenth‑century Dutch portraiture. The figure occupies the central space against a darkened backdrop, drawing attention to her attire and facial features.

Context

During the mid‑1600s, Dutch portraiture often emphasized individuality within a restrained aesthetic, reflecting the era’s bourgeois values. Kamper’s work aligns with this trend, presenting a dignified, unembellished representation that mirrors contemporary social expectations of modesty and propriety.