Where can I see Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book?

Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book?

Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book is associated with Realism.

Artwork

Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book

Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book is an oil painting. It dates from 1800 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This oil painting portrays a woman in formal attire, presenting a composed and thoughtful demeanor.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The presence of a book alongside a coat of arms forms part of the iconographic program, suggesting an association with learning and family identity.

The painting shows a woman holding a book, a composition noted in the work’s description. The presence of a book alongside a coat of arms forms part of the iconographic program, suggesting an association with learning and family identity. Rendered in oil on canvas in 1800, the portrait measures 81.9 × 65.7 cm and belongs to the genre of portraiture.

The anonymous French artist is documented in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, where the work is housed. By combining a scholarly prop with heraldic symbols, the image conveys a notion of cultivated femininity within the cultural context of the early nineteenth century.

Technique & Style

Created in 1800 by an anonymous French artist, this portrait is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 81.9 cm in height and 65.7 cm in width. Stylistically, the composition focuses on a female figure holding a book, with a coat of arms also depicted within the scene.

As a classified painting within the portrait genre, the piece utilizes traditional materials characteristic of early nineteenth-century French art. The specific handling of the oil medium allows for the detailed rendering of the subject and the symbolic objects she holds, though specific details regarding the current surface condition or conservation history are not provided in the available records.

History & Provenance

The Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book was executed in 1800 by an anonymous French painter working in oil on canvas. The painting, classified as a portrait, depicts a woman clutching a book and includes a coat of arms, and measures 81.9 × 65.7 cm. Following its creation, the work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on public view. No documentation of a specific commission survives, and the only recorded ownership chain traces the piece from its production to its acquisition by the museum.

Overview

This oil painting portrays a woman in formal attire, presenting a composed and thoughtful demeanor. Her gaze is direct, and she holds a small book and a white cloth, suggesting aspects of her identity or status. The work is characterized by its use of rich, dark tones, which contribute to the subject's serious expression and the overall solemnity of the portrait, a common approach in portraiture of the period.

Portrait of Eva Goudriaan-de Veer, Cornelis van Cuylenburgh

Artist & collection

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art

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