Portrait of a Young Woman

c. 1690

This painting looks like a portrait, but the costume and casual pose suggest that it could be a character study. Such works were pioneered by Rembrandt van Rijn and taken up by his pupils, including Aert de Gelder, and were sold at lower prices than commissioned portraits. Gelder continued to use his teacher’s techniques to achieve richly textured surfaces and depth into the 18th century, after Rembrandt’s popularity had faded.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Aert de Gelder (Dutch, 1645–1727)

Date

c. 1690

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

66.9 × 53.3 cm (26 5/16 × 21 in.); Framed: 88.3 × 75.3 × 5.1 cm (34 3/4 × 29 5/8 × 2 in.)

Origin

Netherlands

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Wirt D. Walker Fund