Jan Anthonisz van Ravesteyn

c.1572 - 1657

A Portrait of a Lady, bust-length, in an embroidered Dress and with Honeysuckle in her Hair

Medium:

Oil on Panel

Category:

Portrait

Dimensions:

68.2(h) x 56.9(w) cms

Signed:

signed with monogram and dated upper right: 'Anno 1607/JVR: Fecit'

Essay:

Jan Anthonisz van Ravesteyn was a pupil of Michiel van Miereveldt, the celebrated portraitist from Delft. After some travelling Ravesteyn is known to have settled in the Hague, his birthplace, in 1598 and remained there for the rest of his life. He became a member of the Guild that same year and was the leading portraitists of the city. He was married in 1604 to Anna Arents van Berendrecht and had two daughters, both of whom married portraitists, notably Adriaen Hanneman who was a student of Ravesteyn's.

He had a great many pupils in his lifetime and a burgeoning workshop, proof of his renown and popularity amongst the more important and wealthier members of The Hague society. The vast majority of Ravesteyn's oeuvre dates from circa 1610 - 1640 during which time he was very busy with commissions. His earliest dated work is of 'Hugo de Groot, aged 16' from 1599 and it seems his reputation grew quickly from then. Karel van Mander mentions his reputation from as early as 1604. Ravesteyn was best known for his depiction of fabric and attention to detail in the costumes of his sitters. His use of warm tones juxtaposed with cooler blacks and greys created a great sense of richness and lustre.

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This immensely endearing portrait of a young woman bears the marks of young love and indicates that this might be a betrothal portrait, or a portrait intended to help find a husband for the sitter. The sweet-smelling honeysuckle woven in her hair is a traditional symbol of devotion, happiness, and everlasting love. The symbolism of the plant was well known around Europe and it is the flower which Rubens chose to indicate his own marital bliss in his self-portrait with his wife Rubens and Isabella Brant in the Honeysuckle Bower (Alte Pinakothek, Munich) painted c.1609, around the same time as the present picture. Meanwhile, the lack of a cap or other head ware indicates that she is not yet married.

While the honeysuckle is a beautiful though inexpensive adornment the rest of the sitter's sumptuous apparel would have cost a staggering sum of money. The embroidered dress is visible through her slashed black satin sleeves (black being the most difficult to make and expensive dye at the time) and shows spring flowers including tulips, roses, poppies, and more honeysuckle. The dress sleeves are themselves slashed into long ribbons and white silk is visible underneath. In this manner the viewer is shown layer upon layer of fine material which suggests that the sitter is a lady of considerable wealth.

The sitter's collar flares out 180 degrees around the back of her head. In daylight the collar would have had a marvellous effect as light would be reflected onto the lady's face and hair making her look literally radiant. This was called a Rebato Collar (or a Piccadilly Collar in England) which was a wire frame decked in lace or embroidered silk which were popular in Europe in the first quarter of the 16th century with men wearing smaller versions.

The lady's jewellery appears to be black onyx mounted in gold with a pearl choker. A double chain wraps around her chest ending in a fabulous brooch with a matching earring.

Provenance:

Anon. sale, Christie's, London, 9 July 1993, lot 207;
With Rafael Valls Ltd., London, 1994;
Acquired there by the previous owner.