Material Black and red chalk
Dimensions 17.6 × 15.8 cm
Status Vetted

About the Work

The painter and draughtsman, Jan Cossiers, received his initial training from Cornelis de Vos, the famous Antwerp portraitist and history painter. In 1623 he travelled to Aix-en-Provence, where he was given further training by the Dutch painter, Abraham de Vries. In 1627 the artist returned to his native city, became a member of Rubens’ inner circle there and a year later was accepted as a master into the Guild of St. Luke. Cossiers began his artistic career as a painter of genre themes in the manner of Caravaggio and, under the watchful eye of Rubens, developed in the 1630s into one of the leading portraitists and history painters in Flanders. Cossiers’ sensitively observed and masterfully executed portraits enjoyed increasing popularity amongst the affluent middle classes in Antwerp. Moreover, he was also a highly talented draughtsman, as is apparent from a series of striking and vividly observed portraits of children. These delicate portraits often depicted close family members.

The present intimate and sensitively rendered portrait of a pensive young woman is probably of a person from Cossiers’ immediate circle. In terms of its approach and drawing style the present sheet is very similar to a portrait study of a young woman, also executed in black and red chalk, in the British Museum in London (inv. no. 1854.05.13.12). The person portrayed is wearing a comparable pleated bonnet and her softly moulded facial features bear a striking resemblance to the young woman lost in thought in the present drawing. The modest nature of the subject matter notwithstanding, the work reveals outstanding draughtsmanship and a depth of psychological characterisation that would be inconceivable without the example set by Peter Paul Rubens.

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