DUTCH OLD MASTER PORTRAIT OIL
PAINTING
WILLIAM WISSING (1656-1687) (circle)
PORTRAIT OF LADY IN SILVER DRESS
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.
Biography
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.
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