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Portrait of a Woman

Date
c.1560–70
Material
Oil on panel
Classification
Paintings
Current Location
On View, Gallery 222
Dimensions
21 1/4 x 16 1/2 in. (54 x 41.9 cm)
framed: 28 3/4 x 23 3/4 in. (73 x 60.3 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Rights
Public Domain
Object Number
9:1915
NOTES
Opulence and respectability of character are the main themes of this portrait by Barthel Bruyn. The unknown sitter wears a heavy black velvet dress trimmed in white fur. Her belt is encrusted with pearls arranged in interlocking circular patterns and held together by a gilded and bejeweled clasp. Lavish rings adorn her fingers and her hands clutch a prayer book to symbolize her piety. The portrait is one of a pair; the wife in such portraits is typically placed on the right, looking towards the left. .
- 1915
Kleinberger Galleries, New York, NY

1915 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Kleinberger Galleries [1]


Notes:
The likely pendant to the painting is "Portrait of a Man" by Barthel Bruyn the Younger, in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum (accession number 8:1915). Both paintings share the same provenance.

[1] Bill of sale from Kleinberger Galleries dated February 11, 1915 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, February 6, 1915.

We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.

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