"Portrait of a lady in a red silk dress and jewels", Gerard Soest, between 1675 and 1681

"portrait of a lady in a red silk dress and jewelry c. 1675-1681, oil on canvas" in this portrait, painted around the time of the great fire of london, a young woman is shown wearing the most luxurious clothes and a fortune in jewelry. The scarlet silk drapery is held together by two enormous gold and pearl brooches. A huge diamond, pearl and gold brooch sits on the bodice, and perhaps most striking of all is the heavy band of gold, rubies and pearls prominently featured on the fur. The enormous pear-shaped earrings are called unions of excellence, reflecting the difficulty of finding perfectly matched pearls of such a large size (they could reach 20 millimeters in diameter). The costume and jewelry are of course indicative of this woman's wealth and this portrait certainly conveys this message. The window, through which the viewer can see a blue sky and landscape, adds interest to the portrait and was often used in portraiture at the time. The artist perfectly mastered the technique of oil painting. The face, hands and drapery have been rendered with remarkable delicacy; note the carefully placed highlights on the eyes and lower lip. The precise identity of the artist remains elusive, but it is clear that he was exceptionally talented. Of the legions of dutch émigré artists working in england at the time, only a small selection have ever been studied in depth and identified by art experts and historians, leaving the identities of the vast majority of us unknown today, despite some possessing comparable skills. With the most famous artists we know. This portrait falls into this category. . . And is a remarkably fine example of the period. Curly hair, flowing freely away from the head, was fashionable in the 1670s and was known as curly hair (first appearing around 1671). This, along with the dress, helps date the portrait to around 1675-1688. In madame de sévigné’s famous letters, describing the style, “now imagine the hair parted in the peasant fashion less than two inches from the roll of the back; the hair on either side is cut into layers and made into loose round curls that hang about an inch below the ear; he looks very young and pretty - two bunches of hair on each side. A large curl on the top which sometimes falls into the neck. The delicately rendered hand placement is reminiscent of van dyke's work. When this canvas was relined, indistinct text (including “king charles?”) was discovered on the reverse (see photo). Known as zoust to his contemporaries, gérard or gilbert soest (c. 1600 – february 11, 1681) was a portrait painter active in england in the late 17th century. He is most famous for his portraits of william shakespeare and samuel butler, but he painted many members of the english nobility. He was born in soest, westphalia, early in the first decade of the 17th century, around 1601/1602 (he was noted by charles beale as "almost 80 years old when he died"). Nothing certain is known of his training or work in holland, but his later style suggests links with the utrecht school. Soest may have arrived in london as early as 1644 and was certainly there by 1650. His workshop was first near lincoln's inn fields and then in the southampton buildings, north of the strand. He was a painter of exceptional distinction and benefited from good patronage after the restoration. His work expresses the human, rather than purely social, values ​​of his models, and it is these qualities that can be seen in our portrait. His work was primarily in head and shoulders scale, but he also painted in three-quarter length and full length. He died in london on february 11, 1681. Measurements: height 92 cm, width 78 cm framed (height 36. 25", width 30. 75" framed) price: €10,650 artist: entourage of gérard soest (c. 1600–1681) period: 17th century style: louis xiv - regency condition: very good condition material: oil on canvas length: width: 78 diameter: height: 92 depth: 5 reference (id): 1221294 titan fine art european and british paintings 17th to 20th century london se26 4nt, england +44 (0) 208 653 9582 +44 (0) 7875 412 111  email  contact the antique dealer  add this object to your selection  follow this antique dealer  see the gallery of this antique dealer  print sheet ". Date: between 1675 and 1681. Dimensions: height: 78 cm (30.7 in); width: 92 cm (36.2 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Unidentified location. Entourage de Gérard Soest - Portrait d'une dame en robe de soie rouge et bijoux