Portrait of a Young Lady
- Paul van Somer, Dutch, 1576-1621
Paul van Somer, Portrait of a Young Lady, About 1620. Oil paint on panel; 35 1/8 × 27 1/4 in. (89.2 × 69.2 cm). Gift of the Berger Collection Educational Trust, 2021.26
This picture reflects the taste for naturalism in both portraiture and fashion that developed in the early 17th century. Paul van Somer portrays his sitter with a relaxed demeanor and lifelikeness that contrast with the masklike formality of the previous decades’ portraiture. The artist, who enjoyed a successful career in Amsterdam, was named painter to James I soon after moving to London in 1616. The Berger picture is one of a small number of works by van Somer in American collections.
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