1269 - Johannes (Jan) Mijtens (1614 The Hague – 1670 ibid.); attributed to;

Johannes (Jan) Mijtens (1614 The Hague – 1670 ibid.); attributed to; Portrait of a Young Lady with a Dwarf Spaniel This life-size, stately, courtly half-length portrait depicts the lady in half-profile against a curtain draped to one side, revealing a landscape in the background on the right side of the painting. With her right hand, she holds a symbolic golden key, while she cradles the dog against her with her left arm. The clothing, hairstyle, and style of the painting suggest it was created around 1660–1665: the white dress, with wide, softly draping sleeves and delicate lace cuffs, is made of gold-colored silk at the body and falls straight in a wedge shape, trimmed at the bottom with a gemstone hem; a long chiffon scarf with a gold brocade border is draped around her décolletage and tied at the back; her long, dark-blonde hair is loose and falls back over her shoulders, while her forehead is adorned with a few delicate curls. Everything reflects the lady’s high social standing and wealth, which is also ostentatiously displayed in her necklace of very large pearls. Mijtens became a master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1642 and was, throughout his life, a sought-after portrait painter of the nobility as well as the high-ranking and wealthy members of European society. In addition to members of the widely ramified House of Orange-Nassau, which ruled the Netherlands, he also painted portraits of, among others, Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel (1634–1688) and Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel, Electress of the Palatinate (1627–1686). The lady portrayed here may be Henrietta Anne of England, Duchess of Orléans (1644–1670). Oil on canvas, relined; on the reverse, an old attribution to Caspar Netscher. 110 cm x 74 cm. Probably the original frame or a contemporary frame. Attributed to Johannes (or Jan) Mijtens (1614–1670). Oil on canvas, relined. Old attribution to Caspar Netscher on the reverse.