Madam Parson

1683

Jan Verkolje I after Sir Peter Lely

Associated Names
Jan Verkolje I

Artist, Dutch, 1650 - 1693

Sir Peter Lely

Artist After, English, born Germany, 1618 - 1680

The woman depicted in the artwork is shown from the knees up, seated with her body slightly turned to the left. Her head is turned toward the viewer, with a direct gaze. She has curly, voluminous hair framing her face, with softly rendered facial features. She is dressed in a lavish dress with a low neckline, decorated with buttons along the front, and puffed sleeves gathering at her shoulders. The dress appears to be made of a luxurious fabric, with folds and drapes. She rests her right hand in her lap, while her left arm is positioned on the armrest beside her. On both wrists, she wears a pearl bracelet. The background features a drapery cascading from above, with a window or opening showing a garden landscape to the right. The garden includes trees and a distant view of a fountain surrounded by shrubbery.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    mezzotint on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Paul Mellon Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 33 x 25.2 cm (13 x 9 15/16 in.)
    sheet: 34.2 x 26.4 cm (13 7/16 x 10 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2001.118.66

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Smith 1884, no. 3, State only


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Christopher Lennox Boyd; (Nicholas Stogdon, Oxford); purchased 2001 by NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1884

  • Smith, John Chaloner. British mezzotinto portraits, being a descriptive catalogue of these engravings from the introduction of the art to the early part of the present century. 4 vols. London: Henry Sotheran and Co., 1884.

Inscriptions

lower center in plate: Madam Parson; lower left in plate: P. Lely pinxit; lower right in plate: J. Verkolye Fecit et Exc: 1683

Wikidata ID

Q76343397

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