Unknown Woman
Master of Saint Severin (fl. Cologne1485 – 1515)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1500
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
305 x 232 mm (12 x 9 1/8 in)
Place of origin
Cologne
Order this imageCollection
Polesden Lacey, Surrey
NT 1246464
Caption
This richly-dressed woman was painted by an anonymous artist working in Cologne in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, now referred to by his work in the Church of St Severin in that city. The very unusual red background helps pick out the string of prayer beads of the same colour in her left hand, indicative of her piety. The picture may once have been paired with a matching portrait of her husband to which it would have been attached down the left-hand edge by a hinge, or else used to flank each side of a central panel painted with a religious subject.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, Unknown Woman by the Master of Saint Severin (fl.c.1485 – 1515), circa 1500. A head-and-shoulders portrait of an old woman, facing half left, gazing to the left, hands resting in front, a rosary in her left hand; the woman wears a dark brown dress with fur collar and white headdress against a red background.
Provenance
According to the Polesden Lacey 1946 inventory, and borne out by Brockmann, Lyversberg, Cologne: Dr Virnich, Bonn, 1902 and 1925; with Cassirer, Berlin; with Agnew, from whom acquired by Mrs Greville, 1927; The bequest of Margaret (Anderson) McEwan, The Hon. Mrs Ronald - later Dame Margaret - Henry Fulke Greville, DBE (1863-1942) from probate records linked with the donation of the property to the National Trust in 1943. This item found on the record for Polesden Lacey pictures, drawings etc., stored in the cellar, page 161.
Credit line
Polesden Lacey, The McEwan Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Master of Saint Severin (fl. Cologne1485 – 1515), artist Albert Bouts (Louvain c.1452 – Louvain 1549), artist