Portrait of Beatrix van Slingeland (1485-1555). Wife of Cornelis de Witt

This anonymous portrait, dated to the year 1500, was executed in oil paint on a panel support. The work originated in the Northern Low Countries during the early sixteenth century. Its modern institutional history involves inclusion within several Dutch national collection entities, specifically the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands Art Collection and the Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst.

The painting is currently held in the depot of the Rijksmuseum, managed under the auspices of these agencies. No specific details regarding the original commission by the subject, Beatrix van Slingeland, or her husband Cornelis de Witt, nor any intermediate private ownership records prior to its entry into the national collections, are provided in the available documentation.

The portrait is held within the Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam, specifically located in the depot of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE). While the work forms part of the broader holdings managed by the Dienst Verspreide Rijkscollecties and the former Instituut Collectie Nederland, no specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available records. The painting has not been documented in any exhibition history within the provided sources.

The work is an oil painting portraying a woman from the waist upward. She wears a black dress with a white collar and a modest black head covering, her hands joined in front of her. The composition is set against a dark background, with the face illuminated, creating a clear contrast between light and shadow.

In the period of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, portraiture served both as a record of lineage and as a visual affirmation of social rank. The dark background and controlled lighting align with contemporary trends that favored realism and the dignified representation of the sitter.