Portrait of a Lady, Dutch 17th Century, Follower of Paulus Moreelse (1571-1638)

A magnificent Dutch 17th century portrait of a lady wearing an elaborate wide lace collar and dress with puffed and slashed sleeves, oil on canvas. Her extraordinary sumptuous costume with its shimmering gold thread and costly black silk, is of the highest fashion for the time – and clearly indicates a sitter of considerable wealth. Every square inch of the painting speaks to the status of this woman in Dutch society.

Showing the influence of Moreelse, the artist revels in the detail with the fine lace and intricate weaving of the gold pattern on the bodice. Pearl earrings and a silk bow pinned at her breast and waist are lavish emblems of her wealth. Considering the apparent expense of the garments and jewels worn, the sitter appears honestly proud and her gaze lacks any ostentation. A fine example of Dutch portraiture which was at the forefront during the era.

Paulus Moreelse was one of the most eminent portrait painters in the city of Utrecht, receiving commissions from the great and the good across the Dutch Republic. He was a pupil of the Delft portrait painter Michiel Jansz. van Miereveld, whose influence can be seen in Moreelse’s keen attention to detail and realist approach to the portrayal of his sitters. Early in his career he also travelled to Italy, where he would have been exposed to and copied the Italian greats. By 1596 he was back in Utrecht and he became a member of the saddlers’ guild - a painters’ union - and in 1611, along with Abraham Bloemaert was a founder member of a new artists’ guild, the ‘St. Lucas-gilde’. Moreelse was a dedicated citizen of Utrecht, he was active in the city’s politics and urban development; an accomplished architect, he was responsible for the design of several prominent buildings in his native Utrecht, including the Cathatijnepoort (1626, demolished c.1850) and the Vleeshuis on Voorstraat from 1637 (still extant).

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