A Genoese Lady with Her Child (c. 1623–25): Art, History and Details

A Genoese Lady with Her Child (c. 1623–25) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599–1641).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Prior to the 1600s, large, full-length portraits of wealthy clients usually emphasized the trappings of status above any other qualities. The accuracy of the likeness and vivacity of the person remained subordinate to an easily readable sense of the sitter’s power and position in society. Artists such as Van Dyck transformed this tradition, which sent shockwaves through Genoa, instantly changing the direction of elite portraiture in the city. While the elaborate garb of this unidentified sitter and the scale of the image certainly mark her status, the warmth Van Dyck imparted to her face, the drama of the background, and the touching detail of the child spontaneously reaching upward add life, energy, and theatricality to the work.

Object facts

• Title: A Genoese Lady with Her Child
• Date: c. 1623–25
• Creator attribution: Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599–1641)
• Culture: Flanders
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: Framed: 266.5 x 184 x 12 cm (104 15/16 x 72 7/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 217.8 x 146 cm (85 3/4 x 57 1/2 in.)
• Collection: P - Netherlandish-Flemish
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1954.392

A detail from the museum

This portrait was a departure from the painting style popular at this time, focusing less on a demonstrative display of wealth and status and more on capturing the essence of the sitter. Although the clothing denotes affluence, this intimate interaction between mother and child transcends class boundaries.

Collection credit

Gift of the Hanna Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Arendsee, M., and M. Steinman-Arendsee. "Take the CAN disability aesthetics tour, at the Cleveland Museum of art." CAN Journal (Winter 2019/20): 76-87.
• Francis, Henry S. “A Genoese Portrait by Van Dyck.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 6 (June 1955): 115–117.
• Francis, Henry Sayles. Venetian Tradition: Catalogue of the Exhibition. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1956.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.