Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00000250A Genoese Lady with Her Child
About the Artwork
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.
Provenance
Du Pre Alexander, Second Earl of Caledon, purchased through George Augustus Wallis in Florence, March 1829; J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), London and New York, by 1902; [M. Knoedler & Co., New York], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954.
Exhibition history
The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957). In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958). Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963). Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965). Van Dyck. Grande pittura e Collezionismo a Genova. Palazzo Ducale, Venice (March 22-July 13, 1997). Anton van Dyck, Riflessi italiani. Palazzo Reale, Milano, Italy (organizer) (February 19-July 4, 2004). Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 2025-February 1, 2026).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599–1641)
- Date
- c. 1623–25
- Medium
- 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.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of the Hanna Fund
- Accession no.
- 1954.392
More by Anthony van Dyck in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00000250
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