Portrait of a Woman, possibly Elizabeth Boothby (1619): Art, History and Details

Portrait of a Woman, possibly Elizabeth Boothby (1619) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Cornelis Jonson (called Jonson van Ceulen) (British, 1593–1661).

The work and its context

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

Research suggests that this portrait may depict Elizabeth Boothby (1590–1658), daughter of a prominent London merchant. The jewels in her hair, the silver thread and expensive lace adorning her silk gown, and even the faux marble oval surrounding her image are all signs of wealth and status. Although painted in England, this portrait reflects the traditions of Dutch portraiture, evidence of the fluid artistic exchange that existed between the two countries. Jonson was born in London, received his artistic training in Amsterdam, and spent the last 20 years of his career in the Dutch Republic.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of a Woman, possibly Elizabeth Boothby
• Date: 1619
• Creator attribution: Cornelis Jonson (called Jonson van Ceulen) (British, 1593–1661)
• Culture: England, 17th century
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on wood
• Dimensions: Framed: 93.5 x 78 x 5 cm (36 13/16 x 30 11/16 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 65.7 x 56 cm (25 7/8 x 22 1/16 in.)
• Collection: P - British before 1800
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1973.185

A detail from the museum

For this prominent merchant's daughter, sparkling jewels and expensive lace were proud evidence of wealth.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin

Further reading listed by the museum

• Finberg, Alexander J. "A Chronological List of Portraits by Cornelis Johnson or Jonson." The Walpole Society 10 (1921-22): 7, p. III
• Whitworth Art Gallery. The Age of Shakespeare. Manchester: Whitworh Art Gallery, 1964.

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.