The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

Portrait of a Woman

Portrait of a Woman

1646
(Dutch, 1615–1660)
Netherlands
oil on wood
Framed: 101 x 90 x 5.5 cm (39 3/4 x 35 7/16 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 71.5 x 59.5 cm (28 1/8 x 23 7/16 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin 1977.117
Location: not on view

Description

Because of an inscription on the back, this painting was long considered a portrait of Anna Maria van Schurman, a prominent Dutch scholar and artist. These words, however, were added much later and incorrectly state that Anna Maria was 42 years old, when in reality she would have been 39. Furthermore, Flinck's likeness does not resemble other known portraits of this famous woman. Although her identity remains unknown, his sitter has an austere dignity and emotional complexity that captures her individuality through the careful description of her expression and dress. Due to this naturalism and elegant formality, Flinck achieved wealth and a high social standing throughout the 1640s as one of Amsterdam's most popular portraitists, rivaling his former master, Rembrandt. Joachim Sandrart, a contemporary German painter, once commented that compared to Rembrandt's portraits, Flinck's "were more felicitous in the exactness and in the pleasing quality of the portrayal."
  • Private Collection, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    March 14, 1882
    (Sale: "Tableaux Anciens", C.F. Roos, Amsterdam, March 14-15, 1882, lot 27.)
    Dirksen (?).
    Raedt van Oldenbarnevelt
    November 6-9, 1900
    (Sale: Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, November 6-9, 1900, lot 35)
    In 1911
    M. le Chevalier de Stuers
    December 11, 1923
    (Sale: Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, December 11, 1923, lot 473).
    Hoschek, Prague, Czech Republic.
    Farrar
    July 8, 1925
    (Sale: Sotheby’s, London, July 8, 1925, lot 42).
    Rothstien
    Kenyon-Slaney
    December 10, 1925
    (Sale: Sotheby’s, London, December 10, 1925, lot 44).
    1926
    (Sale: Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1926).
    Victor de Stuers, Utrecht, The Netherlands
    -1939
    Dr. Cornelis Johannes Karel van Aalst (1866-1939), Hoevelaken, The Netherlands, upon his death, by inheritance to his heirs.
    1939-
    Heirs of C. J. K. van Aalst
    Cramer, The Hague, The Netherlands.
    -1977
    Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, Shaker Heights, Ohio, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1977.
    1977-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Roos, Cornelis François. Tableaux anciens. March 14-15, 1882. no. 27
    Christie, Manson & Woods. Ancient and Modern Pictures and Water-Colour Drawings. 1899. Lot 146, p. 23
    Frederik Muller & Cie. Tableaux Anciens. November 6-9, 1900. no. 35
    Moes, Ernst W. Iconographia batava 2, 2. Amsterdam: Frederik Muller, 1905. p. 392, no. 7069/9
    Exposition des grands et petits maítres hollandais du XVIIe siècle 1911 (PARIS). Exposition des grands et petits maîtres hollandais du XVIIe siècle organisée ... par la revu "L'Art et les Artistes" ... 28 avril au 10 juillet, 1911. 1911. cat. no. 34
    C. Hofstede de Groot in Thieme, Ulrich, and Felix Becker Algemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Kinstler, Leipzig, XII (1916). p. 98
    Frederik Muller & Cie. Tableaux anciens. 1923. no. 473, p. 3
    Christie, Manson & Woods. Important Collection of Objects of Art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. [London]: [Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd.], 1925. no. 42, p. 8
    Sotheby's (Firm). Important Pictures by Old Masters. 1925. no. 44, p. 13
    Moltke, Joachim Wolfgang, Graf von, and Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner. Dutch and Flemish Old Masters in the Collection of Dr. C.J.K. Van Aalst, Huis-Te-Hoevelaken, Holland. Verona: Officina Bodoni, 1939. p. 138, Fig. XXXII
    Utrechtsch Studenten Corps. Lustrumtentoonstelling uit het kunstbezit van reünisten van het Utrechts Studenten Corps: van 22 juni t/m 11 juli 1956, te houden in het Centraal Museum te Utrecht : catalogus. 1956. cat. no. 6
    Moltke, Joachim Wolfgang. Govaert Flinck, 1615-1660. Amsterdam: M. Hertzberger, 1965. p. 139, no. 344
    "Advertisement", Simiolus Jaargang 1 no. 2 (1966-67).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Reproduced: p. 235; Mentioned: p. 234-236
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1977.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 65, no. 1 (1978). cat. no. 37, repr. p. 13 www.jstor.org
    Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Washington, D.C.: Netherlands-American Amity Trust, 1986. pp. 66, 336
  • Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
    Collection of Victor de Stuers: Long-term Loan to the Rijksmuseum, Rijksmuseum, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
    Lustrumtentoonstelling uit hed kunstbezit van Reünisten van het Utrechtsch Sudenten Corps, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, (1956).
    Exposition des Grands et Petits Maîtres Hollandis du XVII e Siècle, Galerie du jeu de Paume, Paris, France (1911).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Woman|url=false|author=Govaert Flinck|year=1646|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.117