Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace
A young woman in red with a pearl necklace bows her head in the dark: a 17th-century Dutch portrait in the manner of Rembrandt's pupils. Full commentary ↓
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Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace is an oil painting by Willem Drost in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 84.1 × 62.2 cm.
In the pictureAgainst a black background, a woman in red bows her head slightly. She wears a pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a bracelet, and the white collar of her undergarment shows below her neck. Light falls only on her face, chest and hands, and the rest is sunk in darkness.
BackgroundThe painting is held under the name of Rembrandt's pupil Willem Drost, but the museum dates it to the late 17th or early 18th century. The dark Rembrandtesque background, light falling from a single direction, and the contrast between red clothing and pearls were a manner widely popular in Amsterdam at the time. Whoever painted it, the way the light catches on each pearl is worth a look.
Puzzle tipIt is difficult because more than half the picture is black. Complete the skin pieces of the face, neck and hands, the red clothing pieces and the white collar pieces first, then attach the black pieces that touch the clothing and carry a little red. Pure black pieces can only be matched by shape, so 100 pieces or fewer is best.
- Artist
- Dutch, late 17th or early 18th century
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 84.1 x 62.2 cm
- Credit line
- Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
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