Portrait Of A Young Woman, Jacob Adriaensz Backer (harlinge 1609 - Amsterdam 1651)

Jacob Adriaensz Backer (Harlinge 1609 - Amsterdam 1651)
Young woman portrait

Holland, dated top right 1650 (age of the portrayed: 31 years)

oil on canvas, 110 x 84 cm, framed 126 x 100
With old paper label and red paint seal on the reverse: '' Property Charles Lewis Hind (1862–1927 (London).

LINK:https://www.antichitacastelbarco.it/it/prodotto/ritratto-di-giovane-donna-abito-nero

A young Dutch girl is immortalized in our portrait at the age of 31 - as indicated by the inscription - with a large and austere black dress in precious shiny fabric, a flat ruff closed with two tassels and wide sleeves with white cuffs, while the hair is gathered in a hat tied under the chin by a ribbon: all according to the highest standards of elegance of the time.

The portrait perfectly satisfies the clients' need to demonstrate their social status, and every detail reveals the woman's belonging to a wealthy family of the seventeenth-century Dutch upper middle class. The full-length portraits, it should finally be noted, were reserved for the truly wealthy and privileged individuals.

The clothing of our young patrician woman, with an intense and candid look at the same time, is well-kept and although it is not excessively luxurious, it is enriched with some refined jewelry.

We see them wearing rings, a corset ornament with precious stones and, very interesting detail, a necklace of black garnets, traditionally worn as a symbol of strength and power of the family but, at the same time, of the faithful love of the woman - a habit of Leonerdasca memory, which evokes to mind the necklace worn by the Lady with an Ermine -, worn to honor her consort, and which at the same time makes a nice contrast with the beautiful white complexion of the young woman.

The woman poses naturally, gracefully as she observes the viewer, aware of her rank as well as her refined beauty: these elements make us suppose that this portrait was commissioned in conjunction with an engagement.

Her lips are delicate with an imperceptible smile, in keeping with the pictorial custom of the time which, to express a feeling, required painters to hint at emotions, without making them explicit, and therefore vulgar. Finally, great prominence is given to her hands, invested by the light, with long and tapered fingers, nobly arranged along her body, further witnesses of her grace.

The style and characters of the painting lead us to circumscribe its attribution to Jacob Adriaensz. Backer (Harlinge 1609 - Amsterdam 1651), talented Flemish painter, one of the most appreciated portrait painters in Amsterdam and requested by local notables, first pupil of Lambert Jacobsz in Leeuwarden, and then, following his transfer to Amsterdano in 1632, of Rembrandt.

His works, of great technical refinement, are true masterpieces of portraiture, characterized by a naturalistic approach, rendered with a thin and smooth modulation of the paint, wide brush strokes and slightly sketched outlines. Compared to Rembrandt, his palette is brighter, which mainly applies to the skin tones and background.

The painting is completed by a gilded wooden frame.

The painting is in excellent condition and is sold complete with a certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law (FIMA).

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