Artwork
Portrait of Lysbeth van Duvenvoorde
Portrait of Lysbeth van Duvenvoorde is an oil painting. It dates from 1430 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The portrait depicts Lysbeth van Duvenvoorde, a woman rendered in oil on parchment in 1430.
The portrait depicts Lysbeth van Duvenvoorde, a woman rendered in oil on parchment in 1430. She is shown accompanied by a speech scroll, a device that in early Netherlandish portraiture typically conveys a personal motto, devotional text, or spoken declaration attributed to the sitter, lending the image a verbal dimension beyond mere likeness. As one of the earliest surviving Netherlandish portraits of a non-royal woman, the work is regarded as a pioneering assertion of female individual identity, presenting Lysbeth not as an allegorical figure but as a named historical person.
The combination of her specific identity, the inscribed scroll, and the small, intimate scale of the parchment support together signal the sitter's social standing and personal agency within the visual conventions of fifteenth-century portraiture.
Technique & Style
The Portrait of Lysbeth van Duvenvoorde is executed in oil paint on a parchment support, a distinctive choice for a panel painting of the early 15th century. Created in 1430, the work is classified as an anonymous portrait depicting a woman accompanied by a speech scroll. The painting measures approximately 32 to 32.5 cm in height and 20 to 20.5 cm in width.
Stylistically, the piece is characterized by its intimate scale and the specific inclusion of the speech scroll, which serves as a formal element within the composition.
History & Provenance
The work was created in 1430 on parchment and classified as a portrait. It was painted by an anonymous hand and originally owned by Jhr. H. Teixeira de Mattos before entering the collection of the Mauritshuis.
The painting is part of the Rijksmuseum and Mauritshuis holdings and was later documented in the collection of Frederik Muller & Co. Its dimensions measure 32 by 20.5 centimeters. The work entered the Mauritshuis collection through inheritance from Jhr. H. Teixeira de Mattos and remains there today.
The portrait is held in the Mauritshuis, and is also listed among the collections of the Rijksmuseum and formerly associated with Frederik Muller & Co. Ownership is recorded as belonging to the Mauritshuis and to Jhr. H. Teixeira de Mattos.
The sources do not provide an inventory or accession number for the work, nor do they document any exhibition history.
Overview
The work titled "Portrait of Lysbeth van Duvenvoorde" is executed on parchment, presenting a solitary female figure set against a deep, unlit background. She is dressed in a vivid red robe adorned with gold embroidery and elongated tassels, and wears an elaborate tall hat topped with a small, faded diamond-shaped ornament.
Context
During the era of its creation, portraiture served both as a means of personal commemoration and as a display of wealth. The luxurious red garment and gold detailing reflect contemporary fashions among the affluent, while the inclusion of a scroll aligns with the period’s practice of integrating textual symbols into visual representation.
Artist & collection
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The Archangel Gabriel [middle left panel]
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Hl. Paulus Rückseite: Hl. Reinoldus
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