Portrait of a Young Lady C.1720; Circle of Maria Verelst (1680–1744)

In this attractive portrait painted c.1720 a young lady is seated in an Arcadian landscape. The mythical land of Arcadia was a place where love and happiness reigned and was a fashionable setting for portraiture and literature. This young lady conveys a sense of calm and serenity as she looks confidently at the viewer. An enchanting and attractive image.

Maria Verelst was born in Vienna in 1680, daughter of Harman Verelst, a painter who worked successively in The Hague, Amsterdam, and Vienna, and who settled in London in 1683. She was the pupil of her uncle, the flower painter and portraitist Simon Verelst. Comparatively little of her work is recorded, but she painted small portraits on copper as well as portraits on the scale of life. She was much patronized by Scottish sitters. She also had considerable musical and intellectual attainments. She died in London in 1744.

Provenance:

Homes Smith (1830);

Property of a Lady, private UK collection

An inscription on verso states “This picture was purchased by my father Homes Smith about 1830”. Perhaps John Homes Smith (1797-1868) who was a prolific artist, well known in Worcester and Shropshire as a painter of horses, hounds, hunting pictures and portraits. Gilbert Bakewell Stretton (the artist’s grandson) was a collector who bequeathed his collection to the Royal Academy London in the early 20th century

Measurements: Height 88cm, Width 75cm framed (Height 34.5”, Width 29.5” framed)

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