Artwork
Portrait of Anna Boudaen Courten (1599-1622)

Portrait of Anna Boudaen Courten (1599-1622) is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Salomon Mesdach. It dates from 1619 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition follows the conventions of early‑17th‑century Dutch portraiture, presenting her in modest attire that underscores her respectable family status.
The portrait shows Anna Boudaen Courten, a young woman who died in 1622 at the age of twenty‑three. The composition follows the conventions of early‑17th‑century Dutch portraiture, presenting her in modest attire that underscores her respectable family status. Symbolic elements include the delicate lace collar and the soft lighting that together convey both personal virtue and the fleeting nature of youth.
The work was painted in 1619 by Salomon Mesdach for the Amsterdam regent Jacob de Witte van Citters, who commissioned it as a memorial piece after her early death.
Technique & Style
The portrait is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, measuring 94.6 cm in height and 68.9 cm in width. The work is classified as a painting within the portrait genre and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
Stylistically, it belongs to the portrait tradition of the early seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, produced by the Amsterdam painter Salomon Mesdach in 1619. The panel support and oil medium are consistent with the standard practice for formal portraiture of that period, allowing for the controlled layering and fine detail typical of Mesdach's commissioned likenesses.
History & Provenance
Salomon Mesdach painted the Portrait of Anna Boudaen Courten in 1619. Executed in oil on a wooden panel, the artwork measures 94.6 by 68.9 centimeters. The painting's provenance includes ownership by Jacob de Witte van Citters. It ultimately entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it is currently held.
The Portrait of Anna Boudaen Courten (1599-1622) is part of the Rijksmuseum's collection in Amsterdam, with inventory number SK-A-1622. The painting was originally owned by Jacob de Witte van Citters and was created in 1619 as an oil on panel work measuring 94.6 cm in height and 68.9 cm in width.
Context
The painting was created by Salomon Mesdach in 1619 and depicts Anna Boudaen Courten, a young woman who died in 1622. It is classified as a portrait and was painted on panel using oil paint, measuring 94.6 cm in height and 68.9 cm in width. The work belongs to the portrait genre and is part of the Rijksmuseum's collection, having previously been owned by Jacob de Witte van Citters.
Its creation date places it within the early Baroque period in Dutch portraiture, reflecting the stylistic trends of the time.
Scholarly attention to the work remains limited, with few dedicated studies published in major art historical journals. The attribution to Mesdach is widely accepted, though documentation of its early provenance is sparse. As a piece in the Rijksmuseum, it contributes to the museum's broader narrative of 17th-century Dutch portraiture, though it is not considered a central figure in the artist's oeuvre or in the development of the genre itself.
Overview
The Portrait of Anna Boudaen Courten is an oil painting created by Salomon Mesdach in 1619. It is a portrait of a young woman from the early 17th century.
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