Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 17

Portrait of Lady in Silver Dress - Dutch Old Master art portrait oil painting

Circa 1680

About the Item

This lovely Dutch Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Willem Wissing. Wissing settled in England and emerged as Peter Lely's most important pupil after his death. Painted circa1680, the composition is a standing three quarter length portrait of a beautiful lady, her dark curly hair cascading down her back and shoulders. She is wearing a silver satin dress with a pink velvet shawl about her. Behind her on one side is a rich green drape, and on the other side a classical column and landscape beyond. Her right hand is out stretched towards some red roses whilst her other hand is on her hip. Pearls are at her neck and ears. Her stature and dress tell the viewer that she is a woman of wealth and confidence as well as beauty. The roses signify her fidelity and their colour is matched with her shawl and pink lips. Sadly the sitter is currently unknown. Wissing himself died in 1687, possibly poisoned by a jealous rival. His studio workshop was continued by van der Vaart. This is a charming Dutch Old Master portrait with superb brushwork and colouring. Indistinctly dated bottom right. Provenance: Francis Downing label verso. Condition. Oil on canvas, 43 inches by 34 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame, 50 inches by 41 inches and in good condition. Willem Wissing, known in England as William Wissing (1656-1687), was a Dutch portrait artist who worked in England. He was born in either Amsterdam or The Hague, and studied at The Hague under Willem Doudijns (1630–97) and Arnoldus van Ravestyn (1615–90). In 1676, he moved to England, where he studied with and assisted Peter Lely. After Lely's death in 1680, Wissing emerged as his most important pupil. Godfrey Kneller was the only contemporary portrait artist in England to rival Wissing. Wissing’s royal sitters include Charles II of England, Catherine of Braganza, George of Denmark and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. In 1685, James II of England sent Wissing to the Netherlands to paint portraits of his Dutch son-in-law and daughter, the future William III of England and the future Mary II of England. The portraits were often repeated; versions are on display in the Great Hall of the Wren building at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Wissing died in 1687 at the peak of his fame as a portrait painter, at Burghley House, the home of John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter near Stamford in Lincolnshire. Some suspected he was poisoned out of jealousy of his success. According to Arnold Houbraken his epitaph was Immodicis brevis est aetas, meaning Brief is the life of the outstanding. He was buried in St Martin's Church, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Fellow Dutch immigrant Jan van der Vaart worked in his workshop and added the draperies and landscapes in the portraits painted by Wissing. After Wissing's death in 1687, van der Vaart continued Wissing's workshop. Many of Wissing's portraits of prominent sitters and his self-portrait were disseminated in mezzotint.
  • Creation Year:
    Circa 1680
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 50 in (127 cm)Width: 41 in (104.14 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Circle Of:
    Willem Wissing (1656 - 1687, Dutch)
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU853114446982

More From This Seller

View All
Portrait of a Lady with Pink Bow - British c 1820 Old Master art oil painting
By Sir Thomas Lawrence
Located in London, GB
This lovely British Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Sir Thomas Lawrence. Painted circa 1820 it is a seated half length portrait of a beautiful lady in a b...
Category

1820s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Boy Playing a Flute - 18th/19th century art Old Master oil painting
Located in London, GB
This interesting painting is a British Old Master late 18th century or early 19th century oil painting attributed to Thomas Barker of Bath. It is stylistically very similar to his ot...
Category

Early 1800s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Boy Thomas Wagstaff - Scottish art 18th century oil painting
Located in London, GB
This superb late 18th century portrait oil painting is attributed to noted Scottish artist Alexander Nasmyth. Painted circa 1790 the sitter is of the Wagstaff family, either Thomas o...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Boy - British art 1780 Old Master male portrait oil painting
By Joseph Wright of Derby
Located in London, GB
This lovely Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Joseph Wright of Derby. Painted circa 1780 the painting is of a boy in a tunic and wide collar. A really c...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Mrs Harborough - British 18th century art portrait lady oil painting
Located in London, GB
This lovely 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of noted portrait artist Enoch Seeman. Seeman came from Poland to England as a youngster with hi...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Madonna and Child- Italian Old Master religious art portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
This superb Italian Old Master religious portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Bartolomeo Schedoni. Painted circa 1700 it is a half l...
Category

Early 1700s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

You May Also Like

Girl with a pen
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ecce Homo Christ Paint Oil on canvas 17th Century Old master Leonardo Italian
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Lombard painter of the seventeenth century Ecce Homo Oil painting on canvas 56 x 43 cm. , framed 75 x 63 cm. Provenance: Florence, Pandolfini, 5.10.2021, lot 209 The proposed canv...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Sibyl Lady Zanotti Paint Oil on canvas Old master 18th Century Italian
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Portrait of an Eritrean Sibyl who writes the prophecy Circle of Lorenzo Pasinelli (Bologna 1629 - 1700) - Attributable to Giampietro Cavazzoni Zanotti ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Saint Mark Evangelist Guercino Paint Oil on canvas Old master 17th Century Italy
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Workshop of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Il Guercino (Cento, 1591 - Bologna, 1666) Saint Mark the Evangelist Oil on canvas - 85 x 71 cm., Framed 100 x 86 cm. Of great cha...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique 18th C Oil on Canvas A Polish Russian Nobleman Portrait Rembrandt 1637
By (After) Rembrandt van Rijn
Located in Portland, OR
Antique oil on canvas of a Russian or Polish nobleman, painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1637. There is much controversy about this painting, currently housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and has previously been owned by such luminaries as Catherine the Great and Andrew Mellon. It has been referred to as both a Polish and Russian nobleman, the sitter wears a Russian sable hat...
Category

1780s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Madonna Maria Sassoferrato Paint Oil on canvas Old master 18th Century Italian
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Madonna with Sleeping Child Follower of Giovan Battista Salvi known as 'il Sassoferrato' (1609 - 1685) Roman painter 18th century Oil on canvas Measurements: canvas 64 x 50 cm, in frame 76 x 62 cm. This delicate depiction of the Madonna in adoration of the Child exhibits all the human dimension and sweetness of the maternal atmosphere: Mary clasps the sleeping child to her in a tender embrace, which touches her cheek, enveloped and protected by the mantle and even a flap of the mother's veil. The pictorial style and composition recall the ambit of Giovan Battista Salvi, the Sassoferrato, who distinguished himself expressly for this subject, with the Virgin immortalised in a humble and strongly earthly pose, depicted with simple white, red and blue colours and delicate plays of nuances on the faces and hands. This iconographic prototype was so successful that it became the painting for countless works destined for devotion during the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly appreciated for private commissions due to its marked gentleness and formal perfection, particularly of the faces. Born in Marchigiano, Salvi developed his activity in Rome, following the dictates of the classicist sacred painting of the Bolognese school of Reni, Carracci and Domenichino, but succeeding in having an autonomous and therefore clearly distinguishable style.  In very good overall condition, there are some small scattered restorations and some unravelling of the painted surface. Framed in a beautiful gilded frame. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The work is sold with a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card. We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. It is also possible to see the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Recently Viewed

View All