Portrait of Maria de Tassis (1629-1630)

The title of the painting is : Portrait of Maria de Tassis. Anthony Van Dyck painted it in 1629/30. Van Dyck was born in Antwerp. The painter has drawn a woman, Maria de Tassis, on a canvas with oil paint.

Sir Anthony Van Dyck was born on 22 March 1599 and died on 9 December 1641. He was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years.

The woman has got short thick curly brown hair , small eyes and a long nose.
Maybe she is tall and thin but we don't know because she has got a bulky dress.
Her complexion is white which was normal at this time, it was to hide imperfections and to show that she did not need to work outside, like peasants.
She looks serious and graceful. The feather in her hand may represent her job: writer.
She is wearing a gold crucifix, gold being a symbol of wealth and the crucifix being a symbol for her strong faith.

In this painting, the colours are dark, there is only the whiteness of her face and the yellow of her dress which emphasizes the woman. There is a contrast between the darkness of the background and the brightness of her clothes and skin.
All the accessories are only represented to show that she is an extravagant woman.
The portrait is completely centered on the character, the woman is the only noticeable element in this painting, therefore the background is not important, unlike some of Gainsborough's portraits. This woman paid the artist to have a good picture made of her.
Her face brings out her androginy. Just like in the seventeenth century French society, the British society of that time was only an artificial society, based on looks and appearance.

Amélie, Anne-Laure & Victoria