European

Caspar Netscher

Netherlands ca. 1635/6(?)-1684
Portrait of a Lady 25.0197

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The young aristocratic woman in this portrait is positioned beneath a swag of drapery, a typical device of Netscher's, and is seated next to a fountain fashioned in the likeness of Cupid on a dolphin. The fountain is an oblique reference to Venus, born of the sea, goddess of beauty and love, a symbol frequently appearing in portraits of women. Caspar Netscher was born in Germany, but came to the Dutch Republic to study with both Herman Coster and Gerard ter Borch, a well-known figure painter. At The Hague, Netscher soon acquired a reputation as an accomplished portrait painter for the aristocracy; invited to paint at the British court of Charles II, but since most of his known portraits were painted in the Netherlands, his career in Britain was probably short-lived. While Netscher often painted genre (scenes of daily life), religious, and classical subjects, beginning in the 1670s he devoted himself almost entirely to small portraits. His output was prolific and strongly influenced by Anthony van Dyck.

 

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