Portrait of a Lady
Artist: Caspar Netscher (Dutch, 1639 - 1684)
Original Dimensions: 30 7/8" x 24 3/8"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (1683) "A young woman sits on a stone bench in a garden. She leans on a plinth as if trying to be at ease but her bodice, stiffened with whalebone, forbids her to relax. She sits upright, her eyes alert as if expecting someone. Who she might be expecting remains a mystery, since we don't know her identity. Orange blossom may suggest that she was a supporter of the House of Orange (in effect the rulers of the Netherlands) but it also has a long tradition as a symbol of purity and chastity, and of marriage and fertility. In the seventeenth century orange blossom was usually shown in paintings as a small bouquet; in the nineteenth century it often became a bridal headdress. On the low wall in this painting there’s a carving of two cherubs embracing, also a symbol of love and marriage." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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