Portrait of a lady, three-quarter-length, holding gloves and a pocket watch

Jan Albertsz. Rotius was a leading portraitist in Hoorn during the mid-seventeenth century. The present portrait, dated by Renckens to circa 1660 (op.cit.), shows the painter at the height of his artistic powers, moving away from the slight stiffness of his earlier work to a smoother, more nuanced style. His introduction of richer tones and an air of graceful calm reflected the influence of painters like Bartholomeus van der Helst, whose work was widely popular through Holland. Here depicted in the typical costume of urban bourgeoisie women during the late 1650s, the sitter is shown holding an elegant pair of white gloves in one hand and a pocket-watch in the other, the latter of which appeared to be one of Rotius’ favourite motifs in his portrayals of female sitters. This may have had a double function, serving to reflect a certain wealth and status while also standing as a symbol of moral ‘regulation’ and temperance, a trope frequently employed in contemporary genre and still-life painting.

We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Rudi Ekkart for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs (private correspondence, November 2019) and to Tom van der Molen and Norbert Middelkoop for their help in identifying the artist.