Portrait of a Young Woman
Joachim Beuckelaer·1562
Historical Context
Joachim Beuckelaer painted this portrait of a young woman in 1562, an unusual work for an artist primarily known for his elaborate kitchen and market scenes. Beuckelaer was an Antwerp painter who trained under Pieter Aertsen and became one of the leading specialists in still-life-dominated genre scenes. This rare portrait demonstrates his ability to bring the same precise observation of material reality to the human figure.
Technical Analysis
Beuckelaer's oil on panel shows the precise, detailed technique of a painter accustomed to rendering complex still-life arrangements. The careful attention to fabric textures and accessories reflects his professional interest in the material world that distinguished his market and kitchen scenes.
Provenance
Friedrich Wilhelm von Thulemeier (died 1811) Berlin [according to Christoph Martin Vogtherr, letters of February 23 and July 12, 2001]; bequeathed to King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia (died 1840), Schloss, Berlin [Möbelkammer inventory 1824, no. M279]; by descent in Prussian royal collection until 1926 [apportioned to the Hohenzollern family in the 1926 division of the Prussian royal collection between the royal family and the Prussian state and subsequently sold]. Galerie van Diemen, Amsterdam, by 1926 to at least 1930 [according to Van Regteren Altena 1926 and Friedländer 1936]. Mrs. Caroline G. Doty, Swampscott, Massachusetts (died 1988); sold Christie's, New York,11 January 1989, to Marco Grassi as agent for Silvano Lodi, Campione d'Italia; sold to the Art Institute, 1989.
