Edith Mosler Feder

American, died 1960

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Shown from the waist up, a woman looks at us steadily from behind an oval opening in this vertical portrait, which is painted entirely in tones of sepia and golden brown. The woman’s shoulders and face are angled to our left, but she looks at us with large, dark eyes. She has a narrow face with a slightly bumped nose, high cheekbones, a dimple under her lower lip, and her mouth is closed. Her dark hair is pulled back, and curls fall to her shoulders. The bodice of her dress and the voluminous sleeves glint with highlights, suggesting satin or silk. A sheer cloth covering her chest may be lined with pearls, and bows are tied at her shoulders and over her breastbone. She holds one long-fingered hand up to touch the ribbon at her chest, and she wears a ring on that pinky. She holds a closed book by the spine with her other hand down by her waist. A curtain fills most of the background within the oval opening but is pulled aside to show a church tower to the left. The oval opening appears to be ornamented on our side with carved, chubby babies in the lower corners holding a blank banner, paint palette, brushes, maulstick, and books. At the upper corners are a drawing, drafting tools, globe, lute, and caduceus. The artist signed and dated the painting near the woman’s right elbow, to our left: “Cornelius Ionson Van Ceulen fecit 1657.”
Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen, Anna Maria van Schurman, 1657, oil on panel, Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle, 2002.35.1

Anna Maria van Schurman

Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen · 1657 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  2002.35.1

An older man, a young man, and a dog stand on a verandah that opens onto a landscape in this vertical portrait painting. The men are pale skinned and shown from the knees up. The older man stands on the left with his head turned to look off in that direction. Long, silver-gray hair frames his flushed face. Bushy brows curve over his dark gray eyes, and deep creases line his long nose. His plump pink lips are closed between a thin white mustache above and a dot of a beard below. A long white collar hangs down the chest of his lead-gray jacket. His right sleeve, on our left, is turned back to show the cuff of a puffy-sleeved white shirt underneath. That hand holds gleaming velvet-black fabric, which is gathered at his waist and falls to his knees. His other hand rests on the shoulder of the young man to our right. That man’s oval face is framed by thick, shoulder-length, curly, chestnut-brown hair. He gazes at us with amber eyes under slender brows. He has flushed cheeks, a narrow nose, and coral-red lips are slightly parted. A bright orange ribbon tied under a white brocaded ascot around his neck is wider than his face. His russet-brown jacket is unbuttoned to show an embroidered gold and azure-blue vest underneath. A wide pink sash is fastened around his left elbow, on our right, and billowing white sleeves extend from the shorter sleeves of the jacket. He holds his right hand, to our left, palm up with his index finger extended toward the dog in front of him, who has turned to look up. Shown from the back, the dog has long, glossy, coffee-brown fur with some white streaks. The young man’s other hand rests on a chipped stone balustrade next to him. The artist signed and dated the work as if he had carved the front face of the balustrade to read, “N. De Largillierre F. 1685.” Two stone columns rise to either side of the young man and give way to a tree-filled landscape under a muted blue sky above.
Nicolas de Largillierre, Portrait of a Young Man and His Tutor, 1685, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.26

Portrait of a Young Man and His Tutor

Nicolas de Largillierre · 1685 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1961.9.26