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Portrait of a Lady
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Portrait of a Lady
Frans van Mieris(Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden)

1673
oil on panel with arched top
23 x 17 cm
signed and dated in dark paint on lowest stairriser, lower left corner: “F van Mieris. 1673”
FM-109How to cite
Buvelot, Quentin. “Portrait of a Lady” (2017). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 3rd ed. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock
Jr. and Lara Yeager-Crasselt. New York, 2020–23. https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/ (archived December2023).
A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive is managed by apermanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrative occurs.

The trend toward stylization of Frans van Mieris’s later genre paintings is also

Comparative Figuresapparent in his late portraits, among them this colorful Portrait of a Lady. In this wellpreserved panel from 1673, a lady stands in an interior and gazes out at the viewer as
she gracefully rests her right hand on her left wrist. She wears large, decorative silver
earrings and a ring on the little finger of her left hand. The woman is dressed in thelatest fashion, with the gold-thread braiding of her fine satin dress also incorporated
into her hair. Her dark velvet shawl helps set off the smooth skin of her pale arms andhands.
The décor of the room is sparse but elegant. Hanging above a chair at the right is amirror, which appears to show the reflection of a curtain hanging over a window. Thesimple black frame of the mirror is decorated at the top by a flourish of blue and pinkribbons, and at the bottom we see a small white object. Behind the woman is a small
flight of steps, where Van Mieris inscribed his signature and the date of thepainting.[1] An arched doorway at the top of the landing leads to a room furnishedwith a table covered by an expensive Persian rug. On the wall of this back room,Fig 1. Frans van Mieris theElder, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1637,
panel with arched top, 23.5 x 17 cm,
Buchkinghamshire Ascott House,©National Trust© 2024 The Leiden Collection

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partly obscured by the doorframe, is a small ornamental rack with twisted uprightsupports topped by decorative knobs. Two large silver vessels are displayed on its
bottom shelf.[2]Van Mieris painted this stunning portrait as a pendant to one depicting the woman’s
husband.[3] The signature on this pendant is incorporated in a rather conspicuous
manner, as Van Mieris added the monogram “FvM” to the piece of paper in the man’s
hands but left out the date altogether (fig 1). A wooden sphere on the handrail on
which the man’s elbow rests probably denotes the virtuousness of the sitter, who isshown in a fairly relaxed pose as he gazes toward his wife.[4] His jacket with the large
red obi is a so-called Japonsche rock, which was worn only inside the house. Like hisfancy collar, it was the height of contemporary fashion and very expensive,
demonstrating both his wealth and cultured demeanor.
In many seventeenth-century portraits of couples, the man is depicted on the left sideof the painting and the woman on the right, in accordance with heraldic
tradition,[5] but Van Mieris did not follow this custom with these pendants. As in his
pendant portraits from 1669 (FM-110.a and 110.b), Van Mieris linked the two works
together through the man’s gaze, which is directed at his wife.[6] He also mirrored
compositional elements within the arch-shaped panels, including a staircase into aback room and a large black frame hanging near the sitter.
Although the identity of this couple is now unknown, we can glean some information
about the sitters from the paintings. The woman’s clothing and precious earrings,
which Van Mieris has rendered with such meticulous care, reflect the couple’sprosperity. The black frame in the husband’s portrait contains a map of a fortified
city with the inscription “Smyrne,” suggesting that he had trading relations with
SmyrnaTurkey.

(now[7]

calledIzmir),theancient

port

cityofpresent-day

Unfortunately, provenance information fails to shed any light on thecouple’s identity, as by the time these paintings first appeared in the art market thenames of the sitters had been lost. In fact, at some point the two paintings actuallyended up in different collections. The Amsterdam collector Nicolaas Nieuhoff(1733–76) is the earliest known owner of the woman’s portrait.[8] It says a great deal
about Van Mieris’s reputation in the eighteenth century that his portrait of a woman
fetched 700 guilders at the sale of the Nieuhoff Collection, whereas Vermeer’s now
much-loved Woman Holding a Balance (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.)
was sold for the considerably lesser sum of 235 guilders.[9]- Quentin Buvelot, 2017
© 2024 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of a Lady
Page 4 of 7Endnotes
1. Van Mieris had already used this type of composition in another genre scene: The Doctor’s Visit from1657 in Vienna, which is the artist’s earliest dated painting (Otto Naumann, Frans vanMieris (1635–1681) the Elder, 2 vols. [Doornspijk, 1981], 2:22–23, no. 20; Quentin Buvelot, OttoNaumann, and Eddy de Jongh, Frans van Mieris 1635–1681, ed. Quentin Buvelot (Exh. cat. The Hague,
Mauritshuis; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art) (New Haven, 2005), no. 13).
2. A pentimento is discernible around this rack: Van Mieris had initially painted it somewhat more to theleft on the wall.
3. Otto Naumann, Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder, 2 vols. (Doornspijk, 1981), 2:105–6, no. 95;
Quentin Buvelot, Otto Naumann, and Eddy de Jongh, Frans van Mieris 1635–1681, ed. Quentin
Buvelot (Exh. cat. The Hague, Mauritshuis; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art) (New Haven,2005), 197, 199, fig. 44a.

4. See Eddy De Jongh, Questions of meaning: theme and motif in Dutch seventeenth-century painting, trans.
and ed. Michael Hoyle (Leiden, 1995), 222–30.
5. See Eddy de Jongh, Portretten van echt en trouw: Huwelijk en gezin in de Nederlandse kunst van dezeventiende eeuw (Exh. cat. Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum) (Haarlem, 1986), 36–40; Arthur K.
Wheelock Jr., “[Review of B. Broos, A. van Suchtelen, with contributions by Q. Buvelot et al., Portraits
in the Mauritshuis, 1430–1790 (The Hague and Zwolle, 2004)],” Burlington Magazine 148 (2006): 124.
6. He did not follow this same approach, however, in the pendant portraits of himself and his wife; seeOtto Naumann, Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder, 2 vols. (Doornspijk, 1981), 1:139.
7. Otto Naumann, Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder, 2 vols. (Doornspijk, 1981), 1:140; 2:105 (withmore details of the inscription on the map).
8. Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., ed., Johannes Vermeer (Exh. cat. Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art;
The Hague, Mauritshuis) (New Haven, 1995), 144, 145 n. 24. It is curious that the portrait of thehusband was not part of the Nieuhoff sale in 1777, yet the two paintings were sold together only fouryears later, as part of the sale of the Tak Collection (see Provenance). Lot 9, the male portrait, went to acertain “Van der Vinne,” and the portrait discussed here to “Nijman,” i. e., Jan Danser Nijman, afamous Amsterdam collector who owned several paintings by Vermeer (see ibid., 198).
9. See Provenance; for the Vermeer, see Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., The Collection of the National Gallery ofArt Systemaitc Catalogues: Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century (Washington D.C., 1995), 371–77,no. 1942.9.97; Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., ed., Johannes Vermeer (Exh. cat. Washington D.C., NationalGallery of Art; The Hague, Mauritshuis) (New Haven, 1995), no. 10.

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ProvenanceNicolaas Nieuhoff, Amsterdam, before 1776 (his sale, Amsterdam, 14–17 April 1777, no. 121 [Yverfor f 700]).
[Pieter Yver, Amsterdam].
Jan Tak, Leiden (his sale, Zoeterwoude, 5 September 1781, no. 10 [Nijman for f 475]).
Jan Danser Nijman, Amsterdam [not in his sale, Amsterdam, 16 August 1797].
Chevalier François Xavier de Burtin, before 1818 (his sale, Brussels, 21 July 1819, no. 103 [f 3,000]).
Baron Anthony Nathan Rothschild, London, by 1842–76; by descent to his daughter, Annie Yorke, born
Rothschild, London, 1876–1926 (her sale, Christie’s, London, 6 May 1927, no. 34).
[Edouard Jonas, Paris, 1929].
Mrs. Joseph Heine, formerly Mrs. I. D. Levy, New York (her sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York,
24–25 November 1944, no. 242).
Private collection, California (sale, Christie’s, New York, 31 May 1990, no. 148).
[Galerie Sankt Lucas, Vienna, 1990–91; Johnny van Haeften, London, 1992; Otto Naumann Ltd., 1993].
Dr. Hinrich Bischoff, Berlin.
[Johnny van Haeften Ltd., London, 2004].
From whom acquired by the present owner.

Exhibition HistoryLondon, Johnny van Haeften Ltd., “Dutch and Flemish Old Master Paintings,” 1992, no. 20.
The Hague, Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, “Frans van Mieris 1635–1681: Painted Perfection,” 1
October 2005–22 January 2006, no. 44 [lent by the present owner].
Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, “Amorous Intrigues and Painterly Refinement: The Art ofFrans van Mieris,” 26 February–21 May 2006, no. 44 [lent by the present owner].
Beijing, National Museum of China, “Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The LeidenCollection,” 17 June–3 September 2017 [lent by the present owner].
Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund, “Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden Age:
Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection,” 23 September 2017–25 February 2018 [lent by the presentowner].
Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpiecesof The Leiden Collection,” 28 March 2018–22 July 2018 [lent by the present owner].
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St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpieces ofThe Leiden Collection,” 5 September 2018–13 January 2019 [lent by the present owner].
Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, “Rembrandt, Vermeer and the Dutch Golden Age. Masterpieces fromThe Leiden Collection and the Musée du Louvre,” 14 February–18 May 2019 [lent by the presentowner].

References
Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French
Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829–42, 1:72–73, no. 41; suppl., 1842, 9:51, no. 56.
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of
the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. Edited and translated by Edward G. Hawke,
10: 87, no. 323. 8 vols. London, 1907–28. Originally published as Beschreibendes und kritisches
Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols.
Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28.
Naumann, Otto. Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder. 2 vols. Doornspijk, 1981, 1:139–40; 2:105, no.
94.
Naumann, Otto. “Frans van Mieris d. Ä.” In Galerie Sanct Lucas. Sales cat. Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna,
1990–91, no. 12.
Naumann, Otto. “Frans van Mieris the Elder.” In Dutch and Flemish Old Master Paintings. Sales cat.
Johnny van Haeften, Ltd. London, 1992, no. 20.
Mai, Ekkehard, ed. Das Kabinett des Sammlers: Gemälde vom XV. bis XVIII. Jahrhundert. Cologne,
1993, 180–82, no. 72.
Debaisieux, François. Caen Musée des Beaux-Arts: Peintures des écoles étrangères. Caen, 1994, 260.
Naumann, Otto, ed. Inaugural Exhibition of Old Master Paintings. Exh. cat. New York, Otto Naumann,Ltd. Turin, 1995, “Paintings Sold in the Past”, n.p., under “1993.”
Buvelot, Quentin, Otto Naumann, and Eddy de Jongh. Frans van Mieris 1635–1681. Edited by Quentin
Buvelot, 41, 197–99, 230, no. 44, 236, no. 94. Exh. cat. The Hague, Mauritshuis; Washington, National
Gallery of Art. Zwolle, 2005.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Portrait of a Lady.” In Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden
Collection. Edited by Lara Yeager-Crasselt, 98; 188, no. 35. Translated by Li Ying. Exh. cat. Beijing,
National Museum of China. Beijing, 2017.
Long Museum, West Bund. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden Age: Masterpieces fromThe Leiden Collection. Exh. cat. Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund. Shanghai, 2017, 106–7.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Portrait of a Lady.” In The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpieces of TheLeiden Collection. Edited by Polina Lyubimova, 142–43; 239, no. 38. Translated by Daria Babich and© 2024 The Leiden CollectionPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Portrait of a Lady
Page 7 of 7Daria Kuzina. Exh. cat. Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; St. Petersburg, The State
Hermitage Museum. Moscow, 2018.
Blanc, Jan. “Being Modern, Being Dutch: The Seventeenth-Century Invention of the Golden Age.” InRembrandt, Vermeer and the Dutch Golden Age. Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection and the Muséedu Louvre. Edited by Blaise Ducos and Lara Yeager-Crasselt, 43. Exh. cat. Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu
Dhabi. London, 2019. [Exhibition catalogue also published in French and Arabic.]
Ducos, Blaise, and Lara Yeager-Crasselt, eds. Rembrandt, Vermeer and the Dutch Golden Age.
Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection and the Musée du Louvre. Exh. cat. Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu
Dhabi. London, 2019, 145, no. 67. [Exhibition catalogue also published in French and Arabic.]

Technical Summary
The support is a single plank of horizontally grained but vertically oriented rectangular-shaped oak with anarched upper edge.[1] The unthinned and uncradled panel has bevels around all four edges. The panel reverse
has one red wax collection seal, a stencil, and four old paper labels but no import stamps, panel maker’smarks or machine tool marks.
A light brown ground has been thinly and evenly applied followed by a light gray underlayer. The paint has
been applied in successive thin layers with low brushmarking and transparent glazing, and the contours of theforms are slightly raised. The black and gold ribbon and the lace along the edge of the figure’s proper rightsleeve are extremely finely rendered, and the white apron is sheer enough so that the underlying mauve
jacket and blue skirt show through.
The painting is signed and dated in dark paint on the lowest stair riser along the lower left corner.
No underdrawing or compositional changes are readily apparent in infrared images captured at 780–1000
nanometers. The X-radiograph suggests a slight change in position of the thumb of the figure’s proper left
hand, and a diagonal line visible in raking light above the figure’s head may relate to an earlier form.
The painting has not undergone conservation treatment since its acquisition and remains in an excellent stateof preservation.

Technical Summary Endnotes

1. The characterization of the wood is based on visual examinaton of the X-radiograph and panel reverse
images by Ian Tyers. According to Ian Tyers, the panel has good potential for dendrochronology.

© 2024 The Leiden Collection