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A young girl stands next to and holds the hand of an elegantly dressed woman sitting in a wooden armchair near stone columns, in front of a crimson-red curtain pulled up to reveal a distant landscape view in this vertical portrait painting. The child and woman have smooth, light skin, and the fabric of their dresses has a silken sheen. To our right, the woman sits with her knees angled slightly to our left, and she looks at us with dark blue eyes under faint brows. Her brown hair is pulled back from her high forehead under a hair covering set with pearls. Her pointed chin is slightly pulled back, and her pale pink lips are closed. A teardrop-shaped pearl hangs from the ear we can see, and she wears two strands of pearls like a choker, above a thick, pleated lace ruff. The fabric of the long-sleeved bodice has a gold-on-gold pattern, and is lined with a row of buttons down the front. Filmy lace cuffs extend back over her forearms from her wrists. Her full, floor-length skirt is scarlet red with a gold, brocade-like pattern, and has silvery-gray stripes down the front and around the lower hem. The cloak she wears over the dress has a black-on-black floral pattern. Three thick gold chains hang across her bodice, and she wears a square-cut, gray stone set in a gold ring on the third finger of her left hand. To our left, the young girl stands next to the wooden arm of the chair and holds the woman’s hands with both of hers. The child looks at us with gray eyes, and her pale pink lips are parted in a slight smile. Her light brown hair is pulled back under a gray band, perhaps of fur, around her head, over an apricot-colored head covering that matches her dress. The tight-fitting, long-sleeved bodice is striped with bands of alternating gold and pink geometric designs against the apricot-peach background. A lace-edged collar lies across her shoulders. A red, oval pendant hangs from her three-standed pearl necklace, and she wears three pearl bracelets on one wrist. A thick gold chain falls across her chest and around one hip. The floor-length, full skirt has buttercup-yellow and shell-pink highlights on the coral-colored background. Behind the pair, the red curtain has been pulled up so it seems to flutter behind the woman’s head, in front of stone columns that frame a distant landscape view with trees. A blocky structure, presumably a building, sits on the far distant, hazy horizon. Light pours down in streaks from steel-gray clouds against a pale blue sky.

Sir Anthony van Dyck

Susanna Fourment and Her Daughter, 1621

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 42

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 172 × 117 cm, 106 lb. (67 11/16 × 46 1/16 in., 48.081 kg)

framed: 204.47 × 149.86 × 12.7 cm (80 1/2 × 59 × 5 in.)

Credit Line

Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Accession Number

1937.1.48

Artists / Makers

Sir Anthony van Dyck (painter) Flemish, 1599 - 1641

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Overview

In this tender image of a mother and daughter, Anthony van Dyck has conveyed the full extent of his artistic abilities. Even in a formal portrait like this one, he has ably captured the warmth, love, and reassurance of the parent-child relationship through gaze, gesture, and even bearing. The woman is almost certainly Susanna Fourment, identified by a drawing of Van Dyck's one-time mentor and frequent collaborator Peter Paul Rubens, and her only daughter, Clara. Rubens was married to Susanna's sister-in-law Isabella Brant, and it was probably through Rubens that Van Dyck received the commission for this portrait.

With its combination of informality and grandeur, as well as the extraordinary naturalism of the figures' expressions and gestures, the painting bears close stylistic associations with Van Dyck's other work of around 1621. He had returned to his hometown of Antwerp from England in March of that year, but left again the following October to go to Italy. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the 17th-century provenance of Susanna Fourment and Her Daughter. Although it can be assumed that the large-scale portrait was painted for Susanna's home, most likely intended for the voorkamer (front room), there are no references to the painting until 1762. When Andrew Mellon purchased the work in 1930, the painting had been attributed to Rubens, owing to its close stylistic relationship with the master's work. However, by 1941 it had been given to Van Dyck, and it has never been questioned since.

Provenance

Probably Anna Theresia van Halen; (her sale, Antwerp, 19 August 1749, no. 1); Gaillard de Gagny (receiver of finances), Grenoble;[1] (his estate sale, Pierre Remy, Paris, 29 March 1762, no. 9); purchased by Jean-Henri Eberts for Markgräfin Karoline Luise von Baden [1723-1783];[2] (her sale, Amsterdam, 6 March 1769, no. 3); Etienne-François, duc de Choiseul [1719-1785], Paris and Château de Canteloup, Touraine; (his sale, at his residence, Paris, 6-10 April 1772, no. 1); purchased through (Augustin Ménageot, Paris) by Prince Alexander M. Golitzyn for Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], for the Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg;[3] purchased March 1930, as a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[4] gift 1937 to NGA.

[1] The sale of the collection of Anna Theresia van Halen is described by Gerard Hoet, Catalogues of naamlyst van schilderyen, met derzelver pryzen, zedert een langen reeks van jaaren zoo in Holland als op andere plaatzen in het openbaar verkogt, benevens een verzameling van listen van verscheyden nog in wezen zynde cabinetten, 3 vols., The Hague, 1752-1770: 2:256. The provenance back to the Gaillard de Gagny sale is described by Jan Lauts, "Einiges über Markgräfin Karoline Luise von Baden als Gemäldesammlerin," Jahrbuch der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Baden-Württemberg 15 (1978): 49, 53-56.

[2] The correspondence between Eberts and the Markgräfin has been digitized; see the website Karoline Luise von Baden. Kunst und Korrespondenz, http://www.karoline-luise.la-bw.de/, launched in late 2016.

[3] Eberts in 1762 purchased the painting for 2,050 livres, while Ménageot in 1772 bought it for 7,380 livres. Dr. Nicole Willk-Brocard, in a letter of 19 January 1997, kindly provided information about Ménageot and his role in the sale (in NGA curatorial files); see also her article, "Augustin Ménageot (ca. 1700-1784), Marchand de Tableaux, Quelques Jalons," Gazette des Beaux-Arts (April 1998): 161-182.

[4] Mellon purchase date and date deeded to Trust according to Mellon collection files in NGA curatorial records and David Finley's notebook (donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1977 and now in Gallery Archives).

Associated Names

Baden, Karoline Luise von Markgräfin
Catherine II of Russia
Choiseul, Etienne-François, duc de
Colnaghi & Co., Ltd., P. & D.
Eberts, Jean-Henri
Gaillard de Gagny
Golitzyn, Alexander Mikhailovich
Halen, Anna Theresia van
Knoedler & Company, M.
Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, The A.W.
Mellon, Andrew W.
Remy, Pierre
Sale, Amsterdam
Sale, Antwerp
Sale, Paris
State Hermitage Museum
The Matthiesen Gallery

Exhibition History

1990: Anthony van Dyck, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1990-1991, no. 21, color repro.

2012: The Young Van Dyck, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2012-2013, no. 89, repro.

2015: Caroline Louise of Baden: A collector of European standing, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, 2015.

Bibliography

n.d.: Schröder, Klaus Albrecht and Heinz Widauer, eds. Peter Paul Rubens. Exh. cat. Albertina, Vienna, 2004: 344, fig. 1, repro.

1762: Rémy, Pierre. Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, porcelaines, bijoux et autre effects du Cabinet de Feu M. Gaillard de Gagny. Paris, 1762: 6-7, no. 9.

1771: Basan, Pierre François. Recueil d'Estampes Gravés d'après les tableaux du cabinet Monseigneur le Duc de Choisel. Paris, 1771:8, repro. pl. 83.

1772: Boileau, J.F. Catalogue des tableaux qui composent le cabinet de Monseignor le Duc de Choiseul. Paris, 1772:3, no. 1.

1773: Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.] "Catalogue raisonné des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Galeries, Sallons et Cabinets du Palais Impérial de S. Pétersbourg, commencé en 1773 et continué jusqu’en 1785.” 3 vols. Manuscript, Fund 1, Opis’ VI-A, delo 85, Hermitage Archives, Saint Petersburg,1773-1783 (vols. 1-2), 1785 (vol. 3).

1774: Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.]. Catalogue des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Cabinets du Palais Impérial à Saint-Pétersbourg. Based on the 1773 manuscript catalogue. Saint Petersburg, 1774: no. 904, as Portrait d'une Dame et de son fils.

1863: Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial, Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. Saint Petersburg, 1863: 139, no. 635.

1864: Viardot, Louis. Le Musée de l'Ermitage à Saint-Pétersbourg et son nouveau catalogue. Paris, 1864:318

1864: Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Die Gemäldesammlung in der kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St. Petersburg nebst Bemerkungen über andere dortige Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 1864: 149, no. 635.

1870: Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1870: 2:79-80, no. 635.

1879: Ris, Comte Louis Clément de. "Musée Impérial de l'Ermitage à Saint-Pétersbourg (third of 4 articles)." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 19 (June1879): 580-581, as Dame et sa fille.

1882: Guiffrey, Jules. Antoine van Dyck - sa vie et son oeuvre. Paris, 1882: 287, no. 1095.

1886: Rooses, Max. "Oeuvre de Rubens. Addenda et Corrigenda." Rubens-Bulletijn 4 (1896):284, 286, as Rubens.

1890: Rooses, Max. L'Oeuvre de P.P. Rubens: histoire et description de ses tabelaux et dessins. 5 vols. Antwerp, 1886-1892: 4(1890):181-182, no. 952, as Rubens.

1895: Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1895: 74-75, no. 635.

1898: Stevenson, R.A.M. Peter Paul Rubens. London, 1898: 57.

1898: Tourneux, Maurice. "Diderot et le musée de l'Ermitage." Gazette des Beaux-arts19 (1898): 342.

1899: Phillips, Claude. "The Van Dyck Exhibition at Antwerp." The Nineteenth Century 46 (November 1899): 743.

1900: Cust, Lionel. Anthony van Dyck - An Historical Study of His Life and Works. London, 1900:17, 234, no. 22.

1900: Phillips, Claude. "The Imperial Gallery of the Hermitage--III." The North American Review 170 (January 1900):136-137.

1900: Rooses, Max. Fifty Masterpieces of Anthony van Dyck. Trans. Fanny Knowles. London, 1900: 6, as Rubens.

1901: Somov, Andre Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial. Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 4th ed. Saint Petersburg, 1901: 2:366-367, no. 635.

1902: Rooses, Max. "Die vlämischen und niederländischen Meister in der Ermitage zu St. Petersburg [1]." Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst 13 (1902):46, as Rubens.

1903: Cust, Lionel. Van Dyck. 2 vols. New York, 1903: 1:13-14

1903: Rooses, Max. Rubens'leven en werken. Amsterdam and Antwerp, 1903:547, as Rubens.

1904: Rooses, Max. Rubens. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1904:I:303, as Rubens.

1904: Stokes, Hugh. Sir Anthony van Dyck. London and New York, 1904: xlvi.

1905: Rosenerg, Adolf. P.P. Rubens, des Meisters Gemälde in 551 Abbildungen. Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1905: 481, no. 317, repro., as Rubens.

1906: Bode, Wilhelm von. Rembrandt und Seine Zeitgenossen.... Leipzig, 1906: 268.

1909: Bode, Wilhelm von. Great Masters of Dutch and Flemish Painting. Translated by Margaret L. Clarke. London, 1909: 311-312.

1909: Dillon, Edward. Rubens. London, 1909: 161, 206 no. 35, repro. as "possibly Vandyke."

1909: Schaeffer, Emil. Van Dyck: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben. Stuttgart, 1909: 155, 525, 544, repro.

1909: Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d'Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l'Hermitage Impérial à St-Pétersbourg. London, 1909: xii, as Rubens.

1920: Glück, Gustav. "Rubens' Liebesgarten." Jb Wien 35 (1920-1921): 91, 93-94, repro.

1929: Burchard, Ludwig. "Genuesische Frauenbildnisse von Rubens." Jahrbuch der preussischen Kunstsammlungen 50 (1929): 336.

1931: Glück, Gustav. Van Dyck: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 13. Revised 2nd ed. New York and Stuttgart, 1931: 111, 531, 584, repro.

1933: Glück, Gustav. Rubens, Van Dyck und ihr Kreis. Vienna, 1933: 144, 145, 165, 389-390, repro.

1937: Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: 6, 37, as Rubens.

1937: Jewell, Edward Alden. "Mellon's Gift." Magazine of Art 30, no. 2 (February 1937): 82 (as by Rubens).

1940: McBride, Ruth Q. "Old Masters in a New National Gallery." The National Geographic Magazine 78 (1 July 1940): 8, as Rubens.

1941: De Tolnay, Charles. "Flemish Paintings in the National Gallery of Art." Magazine of Art 34 (April 1941): 193, 195, repro.

1941: Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 203-204, no. 48.

1942: Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 240, repro. 40.

1949: Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 69, repro.

1963: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 310, repro.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 46.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 39, repro.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 118, repro.

1976: Hoet, Gerard. Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen. 3 vols. Reprint of 1752 ed. with supplement by Pieter Terwesten, 1770. Soest, 1976: 2:256, no. 1.

1978: King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 46-47, pl. 25.

1978: Lauts, Jan. "Einiges über Markgräfin Karoline Luise von Baden als Gemäldesammlerin." Jahrbuch der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Baden-Württemberg 15 (1978): 49, 53-56, repro.

1980: Larsen, Erik. L’opera completa di Van Dyck. 2 vols. Classici dell'arte 102-103. Milan, 1980: 2: 46, no. 82, repro.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 259, no. 328, color repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 143, repro.

1986: Barnes, Susan J. "Van Dyck in Italy 1621-1628." 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 1986: 1: 75 note 37, 79, 122; 2: no. 100, repro.

1990: Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr., and Susan J. Barnes. Anthony van Dyck,. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990: 135-137, no. 21, repro.

1991: Jaffé, Michael. "Exhibition Reviews: Van Dyck at the National Gallery of Art." The Burlington Magazine 133 (February 1991): 143, no. 21.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 91, 97, color repro.

1992: Bauman, Guy C., and Walter A. Liedtke. Flemish Paintings in America: A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Fleming Paintings in the Public Collections of America. Antwerp, 1992: 334, repro.

1992: Lawrence, Cynthia. "The Epitaph of Arnoluds Lunden, Jr.: Notes on a Monument from Rubens' Circle." Jaarboek van het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (1992): 71, 72, repro.

1994: Lawrence, Cynthia. "Clara de Moy or Clara de Monte?: A Note on the Lind Translation of the Vita Petri Pauli Rubenii." Source: Notes in the History of Art 13, no. 2 (Winter 1994): 31, 32, repro.

1994: Moir, Alfred. Anthony van Dyck. New York, 1994: 64-65, repro.

1996: Gritsai, Natalia. Anthony Van Dyck. Bournemouth and Saint Petersburg, 1996: 15, repro.

1998: Willk-Brocard, Nicole. “Augustin Ménageot (ca. 1700-1784), Marchand de Tableaux. Quelques Jalons.” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 131 (1998): 166-167, repro.

1999: Brown, Chistopher, Hans Vlieghe, et al. Van Dyck 1599-1641. Exh. cat. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp; Royal Academy of Arts, London. Antwerp and London, 1999: 119.

2004: Barnes, Susan J. Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings. New Haven, 2004: I.103

2005: Fahy, Everett, ed. The Wrightsman Pictures. New Haven, 2005: 116, under cat. 33, fig. 3.

2005: Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2005: 30-35, color repro.

2009: Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, D.C., 2009: 135 n. 62.

2011: Fiedler, Susanne, and Torsten Knuth. "Vexierbilder einer Biographie: Dr. Heinz Mansfeld (1899-1959)." Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher 126 (2011):307.

2013: Semyonova, Natalya, and Nicolas V. Iljine, eds. Selling Russia's Treasures: The Soviet Trade in Nationalized Art 1917-1938. New York and London, 2013: 138, 139, 172, repro.

2016: Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 398.

2020: Libby, Alexandra. “From Personal Treasures to Public Gifts: The Flemish Painting Collection at the National Gallery of Art.” In America and the Art of Flanders: Collecting Paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, and their Circles, edited by Esmée Quodbach. The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America 5. University Park, 2020: 133.