This 'portrait de cabinet' (a painting for a small intimate room known as a cabinet) is a characteristic example of the international baroque style of which Netscher was a prime proponent; it elegantly exemplifies the artist's interest in depicting the luxurious.
The painting is as much a study of fine clothes and expensive textiles as it a portrayal of a lady. Netscher was particularly renowned for his skill in depicting white satin.
The lady gracefully rests an arm on a costly rug and looks invitingly at the viewer, a bowl of roses to her left (white for spiritual love, red for carnal) and a park in the background. Her serene composure complements the luxury of her attire and surroundings, unifying in the painting with a sense of extravagent beauty.
CASPAR NETSCHER(1639-84) was a Dutch portraitist of Holland's Golden Age of painting. In his early career at The Hague, where he settled in 1651, he also painted genre and religious scenes; but from c.1670 onwards he devoted himself exclusively to the portrait, often of Court members in The Hague, earning a considerable fortune. His reputation was so highly regarded that he was invited to England by King Charles II.
Netscher worked elegantly and with a bit of French influence, exquisitely finished and influencing Dutch portraiture into the 18th century.
SIZE: 32 x 22.5 inches inc. frame
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Surrey.
Private Collection, Cheshire.
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
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Sold...portrait of a Lady C.1680; Attributed to Caspar Netscher
