Flemish or Dutch master, ca. 1600

Flemish or Dutch master, ca. 1600
Portrait of a lady with family emblem 'PLUS PENSER QVE DIRE".
Oil on oak panel.
Family emblem with motto "PLUS PENSER QVE DIRE" ("More to think than to speak") in the upper left corner.
XIX century frame following XVII century models.
Measurements: 66 × 50 cm; 87 × 71 cm (frame).

This female portrait, executed around 1600, is part of the tradition of the official portrait of the Netherlands in the first decades of the 17th century, a typology highly valued for its high technical quality and its ability to document the social position and moral code of the elites of the time. The presence of the family emblem with the motto "PLUS PENSER QVE DIRE" ("More to think than to speak"), a humanist maxim adopted by several noble families in the 16th and 17th centuries, gives the work a rare identity and moral dimension, which increases its historical and collector interest.

The painting shows clear affinities with the milieu of portraitists active in Delft and The Hague, in particular with the circle of Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1567-1641), as well as with the early stages of Paulus Moreelse (1571-1638) and Jan Antonisz. van Ravesteyn (ca. 1572-1657). The restrained frontality, the serenity of the gesture and the meticulous description of the fabrics-especially the "mill wheel" type ruff, the puffed sleeves embroidered in gold and the delicate lace-refer to the standards of official portraiture that these masters set at the beginning of the 17th century. The oak panel support, characteristic of Nordic painting, confirms its insertion in this tradition.

The lady appears half-length, dressed in black ceremonial dress and a wide starched ruff, a costly garment linked to Hispanic courtly fashion and the Protestant gentry. The transparent bonnet, the red beaded bracelets -probably coral, a material prized both for its value and its protective function- and the possible pomander hanging from her waist are details that reinforce the interpretation of the model as a member of a well-to-do social milieu. The flower she holds in her hand is a common motif in female portraits of the period, associated with virtue, youth and decorum.

The combination of an original oak support, a richly described clothing, a family emblem with an explicit moral motto and clear stylistic connections with the circle of Mierevelt and his contemporaries place this portrait among the most interesting examples of early Nordic portraiture for today's collector, especially in a segment -that of works with heraldic identification or talking emblems- where appearances on the market are relatively scarce.