Remarkably, it has survived in a near-pristine state of preservation and remains on its original unlined canvas.[1] Interestingly our portrait’s artist, the Flemish virtuoso Frans Pourbus II, chose to inscribe the rare dating format of “AN°. SAL” (“Year of Salvation”); there is only one other known composition by him that is similarly inscribed [Fig. 1] so this may be of some significance.[2]

It therefore represents a fascinating addition to the growing number of rediscovered early works by Pourbus, who was to become the greatest and most fashionable court portraitist of his day. Until now, it was thought that Pourbus first arrived in Brussels in 1594. However, the sitter in our portrait, which is dated a year earlier, has all the appearance of a prominent member of the Habsburg court in Brussels. This would suggest that the artist was already drawing upon patronage in the city from 1593.

Shown dazzling within a dark composition, our subject’s costume is a symphonic medley of black materials. The impenetrable darkness of the pigment is contrasted beautifully and subtly by an assortment of expensive jewellery and accoutrements: whether it is the long, multi-layered gold chain and doubled-over pearl necklace, which is delicately tied together with a teal ribbon and tenderly handled by the sitter; the highly ornate starched lace ruff and collars; or the thin belt, which is studded with embroidered hearts and enamel flowers, this woman apparently knows of no limitations to her means.

Perhaps the boldest colouring within the portrait derives from the subject’s blushed face, which is even and unblemished, and suggests that she is likely aged a few years either side of thirty. Her full lips are not dissimilar in shape to her round, if slightly asymmetrical grey eyes, and her finely plucked fair eyebrows allow her bouffant hair, which features a gold hair slide with eight freshwater pearls, to be admired for its comparative freedom and flair.

As well as the deep black silk and satin costume, slashed at the sleeves and variously embroidered with silver thread, one of the most distinctive and plentiful elements within her jet jewellery, which was particularly fashionable and commonly used for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings in the sixteenth century. Most of it was sourced and made in Spain, especially in Compostela, the famous pilgrimage site, which further suggests that our subject was a devout Catholic and connected with the Archducal court, who represented the Spanish crown in the Low Countries.[3] Whilst black was the favoured colour in Spanish fashion at this time, its predominance could also infer that our subject a widow, and a recent one at that.

1592, the year before our portrait was painted, would prove a pivotal moment for how the Spanish Netherlands would be governed. Life in the region had been dominated by major conflicts associated with the Eighty Years’ War, which had started in 1568. With the Union of Utrecht in 1579 and the Fall of Antwerp in 1585, the borders and governance of the Netherlands had split between the Spanish in the Southern Netherlands and the United Provinces (also known as the Dutch Republic) in the north. The Spanish crown was represented by nominated Governors in the Netherlands, who were usually from a military background; for some fifteen years this position was in the hands of Alessandro Farnese (1545 – 1592), Duke of Parma. Upon his death in 1592, the position was temporarily held by Peter Ernst von Mansfeld-Vorderort (1517 – 1604), another senior military commander, before Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553 – 1595), who died within a year of assuming the role.

This was therefore very much a transitional moment whereby the mantel and responsibility of the governorship of the Spanish Netherlands was transferred from seasoned military commanders to high-ranking members of the Habsburg family, mainly those based in Austria and Spain. It had become economically and politically unsustainable to have a purely military presence, so the Spanish chose a more holistic and diplomatic manner in which to govern the Southern Netherlands. Upon Ernest of Austria’s unexpected death, the position passed to his brother, Albert VII (1559 – 1621) who, together with his wife, Princess Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (1566 - 1633), would craft a period of relative peace and prosperity for the Spanish Netherlands, which coincided with regular patronage of some of the greatest Flemish artists of the seventeenth century, including the artist of our portrait, Frans Pourbus the Younger, and his younger colleague Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640).

Between circa 1599 and 1615, both artists created iconic portraits of the Archduke and Archduchess, which were swiftly disseminated via replicas of uneven quality. However, our earlier and highly finished portrait is unique and, hitherto, unknown. With no obvious clues as to her identity it is difficult to say with absolute certainty who our subject might be. Several notable noblewomen bear a similar resemblance to our sitter, including Sibylle of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1557 – 1628); Antonia of Lorraine (1568 – 1610); and Anne de Croy, Princess-Countess d'Arenberg (1564 - 1635), of these, however, only Anne de Croy was based in Brussels. However, comparison with other known portraits of the Countess of Arenberg, as well as the plausibility of her sitting for such a portrait at this date (i.e. the subject is shown in mourning), rule her out as being the subject of our portrait [Fig. 2].

It may well be that our sitter was married to one of the many noble military figures, who were particularly active during the many battles associated with the Dutch Revolt, such as the Siege of Geertruidenberg in early 1593, and who were to die in conflict.

Frans Pourbus II was born in Antwerp but, latterly, became a naturalized French citizen. He was arguably the most influential court painter of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries who developed an extraordinary canon of royal and noble portraiture. His success was so prodigious that it was only the new dynamic artistic approaches of Rubens and Van Dyck who would take portraiture in a new direction.

Amongst others, his portraits of the Bourbons, the new French royal family, served as the prototype for the ultimate princely portrait of his day and were widely disseminated through foreign courts as an instrument and indication of power. Pourbus had established a style of painting that was inspired by his patrons within the Habsburg, Bourbon, and Medici courts; his regard in the French court was attested by the honour of taking up residence in the Louvre.

Pourbus sought to both faithfully render a likeness, whilst also aspiring to an idealism – the ‘royal dignitas’ - which singles out his work. He endeavored to represent above all the status and character of the sitter through a set of attitudes, gestures, looks and the sumptuous splendor of their costumes, while the plasticity of their flesh, the careful modelling of their faces and hands, evoke the delicacy of French enamels of this period.

He was the son of Frans Pourbus the Elder (1545 – 1581) and grandson of Pieter Pourbus (1523/4 – 1584). He trained in his grandfather’s studio and was quickly accepted as a master in Antwerp in 1591. During his early years in Antwerp, until circa 1590, Pourbus’ style was strongly influenced by the work of his father and grandfather; although he developed an individualised approach, he always remained faithful to the Flemish tradition and never really embraced the baroque movement. Pourbus would eventually become regarded as a founding father of French portraiture, taking forward the traditional aesthetic established by François Clouet (c.1510 – 1572) and Corneille de Lyon (c.1500 – 1575).

In the 1590s Pourbus worked for the Archdukes Albert and Isabella at their court in Brussels, but departed for Mantua in 1600, where he was court painter to Vincent II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, alongside Rubens, until 1609. He received numerous commissions from the ducal family and travelled to Innsbruck in 1603, Turin in 1605 – 1606, and Paris in 1613, where he painted the young Dauphin, latter Louis XIII, and his mother Marie de’ Medici, the sister of the Duchess of Mantua. Following another trip to Italy in 1607, he returned to Paris where he entered the service of Marie de’ Medici and subsequently that of Louis XIII in 1616, until his death in 1622.

[1] Cinzia Pasquali, the leading Paris-based restorer who conserved this painting, had never seen an oil on canvas painting of this age in such pristine condition and believes that it had never been restored before her own treatment.

[2] The artist more commonly used the “ANNO DOMINI” (“In the year of the Lord”) format.

[3] K. Deagan, Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500-1800: Volume 2: Portable Personal Possessions, Washington D.C. 2002, P. 132.