Portrait of a woman

Jan Jansz Mostaert

c. 1520

oil on panel

Rijksmuseum

A woman in a fur-trimmed brown dress and white headdress is depicted in a three-quarter profile against a detailed landscape background. Her hands are clasped in her lap. In Northern Europe portraits were less idealized than in Italy. That is not to say that the women there were more modest. While this lady presents an unadorned face, her clothes are particularly sumptuous. Her gown is made of brown silk damask and the pinkish-red underdress is interwoven with gold thread. She was undoubtedly wealthy and came from the vicinity of Haarlem or from Mechelen, where Mostaert was also active.