Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Portrait of a Woman
(Baroque Europe )
This older woman, in lace collar, pearl necklace, and cut-stone earrings, holds open a fashionable pocket watch. The meaning is only clear when seen with Nason's portrait of her husband (Dulwich Picture Gallery, London), also dated 1663. The velvet curtain and the marble column reflect wealth, but the book and skull before the husband are to be "read" with the watch: the couple urges the viewer to look beyond simple pleasures that pass like the ticking of a watch and prepare for the death that comes to all.
Nason portrayed merchant and aristocratic clients in Amsterdam, England, and, finally, Berlin, where he worked for the German branch of the Orange family.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
William T. Walters, Baltimore, prior to 1884, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1981-1982 | New Light on Old Pictures: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Walters. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/23/1942 | Treatment | varnish removed; inpainted; coated. |
| 6/12/1942 | Treatment | other |
| 2/10/1981 | Treatment | surface cleaned; lined; coated; inpainted |
| 3/9/1991 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
Netherlands, The Hague (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 34 3/8 x W: 26 15/16 in. (87.3 x 68.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, before 1884
Location in Museum
Charles Street: Second Floor: 17th-Century Dutch Cabinet Rooms
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.71