Dutch School Of The 17th Century, Portrait Of A Lady In A Ruff, Attributed To Miereveld, 17th Century.

Portrait of a Lady with a Lace Ruff, Dutch School, 17th century. Attributed to Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt or Miereveld (Delft, May 1, 1566 – Delft, June 27, 1641), a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Oil on reinforced oak panel. Molded and gilded frame, Italian work, 17th century. Traces of a signature and dated: "1634". Private collection. Dimensions: panel: h. 65 cm x w. 51 cm; frame: h. 95.5 cm x w. 82.5 cm. The painting we are presenting is the portrait of a lady of quality with a striking gaze, dressed in a very finely rendered garment. Provenance: Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt was the son of a goldsmith who, at a young age, apprenticed him to the engraver Hieronymus Wierix. He then became a pupil of Willem Willemzet Augustyne of Delft, until the painter Anthonie van Montfoort, who had greatly admired two engravings by the young Mierevelt that he had seen (Christ and the Good Samaritan and Judith and Holofernes), decided to invite him to his studio in Utrecht. Mierevelt became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in The Hague in 1625. Initially devoting himself to still life, he then worked almost exclusively on portraiture, a genre in which he achieved such great success that he was obliged to employ numerous assistants to fulfill the commissions he received. His reputation was so great during his lifetime that he was approached by many European sovereigns of the time: Albert of Austria, the King of Sweden, the Count Palatine of Neuburg, and King Charles I of England.