Who painted Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan?

Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1633-01-01.

Where can I see Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan?

Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan?

Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan?

Museum-quality prints of Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan by Rembrandt van Rijn (1633)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The subject's features bear a strong resemblance to another portrait held in Houston, suggesting a consistent representation of the sitter.

Painted in 1633, this work depicts a young woman seated in an armchair, facing the viewer directly while holding a black feather fan with a gold chain against her bosom. She is dressed in a black silk gown featuring puffed and slashed sleeves, complemented by a triple lace collar and wristbands. Her status is emphasized through abundant jewelry, including a double string of pearls around her neck, pearl bracelets on both arms, a ruby bracelet, and pearl earrings.

The painting functions as a pendant to a portrait of a man rising from his chair, likely created to commemorate the couple's wedding. This pairing reflects a tradition of double portraits that has rarely survived intact from Rembrandt's oeuvre. The subject's features bear a strong resemblance to another portrait held in Houston, suggesting a consistent representation of the sitter.

Technique & Style

Executed in 1633, the work is an oil painting on canvas. The support measures 125.7 cm in height and 101 cm in width. Stylistically, the composition presents a three-quarter length, life-size figure seated in an armchair and viewed frontally.

The subject holds a black feather fan with a gold chain against her chest, while her left hand rests on a table. Lighting originates from the left foreground, illuminating a fresh complexion and dull fair curly hair. The figure wears a black silk gown featuring puffed and slashed sleeves, accompanied by a triple close-fitting lace collar and lace wristbands.

Her attire is further adorned with a double string of pearls around the neck, pearl strings and a ruby bracelet on both arms, and pearls in her ears.

History & Provenance

Painted in 1633 by Rembrandt, this work was likely commissioned as a wedding pendant to accompany the Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair, now held at the Taft Museum. The painting remained in the collection of Lord Leconfield at Petworth House, where it was recorded in 19th-century exhibitions at the British Institution and the Royal Academy. It was later documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1914, who noted its pairing with the male portrait.

The work entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1945 as part of the Helen Swift Neilson bequest. The Rembrandt Research Project subsequently confirmed the historical pairing of these two portraits.

The work is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired via the 1945 bequest of Helen Swift Neilson. Its exhibition history includes a showing at the British Institution in London in 1822 (catalogue no. 13) and a presentation at the Royal Academy's winter exhibition in London in 1899 (catalogue no. 55).

Context

The painting was documented by the Dutch art historian Hofstede de Groot in 1914, who catalogued it as entry 881 and noted its early provenance through Lord Leconfield at Petworth House, along with its display at the British Institution in 1822 and the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition in 1899. It was included in most 20th-century Rembrandt catalogues, and the Rembrandt Research Project has endorsed Hofstede de Groot's pairing of this work with the pendant portrait of a man in the Taft Museum, a marriage pendant of which only a few Rembrandt pairs survive. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2007 catalogue of Dutch Paintings (Volume I, cat. no. 146), Walter Liedtke observed that the sitter's features closely resemble those in another portrait held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, situating the canvas within Rembrandt's broader portrait practice of the early 1630s.

Overview

Rembrandt van Rijn completed Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan in 1633, an oil painting depicting a seated female figure. This work serves as a companion piece to his Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair, suggesting they were commissioned as a pair. The painting is currently housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It exemplifies the artist's early Amsterdam period, showcasing his developing skill in capturing individual likeness.