Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
Maerten van Heemskerck lived in Rome for four years (1532–36) and was deeply affected by the city's art and antiquities. Here, the half-length, seated figure, the tense yet elegant hands, and even the grotesque classical mask reflect the impact of that experience, while the love of meticulously represented textures is traditionally associated with northern European art. Machtelt Suijs married Dirick van Teijlingen in 1535 and lived in Alkmaar (the Netherlands), where Heemskerck must have painted her. The coat-of-arms that hangs from the mask combines family emblems, indicating that her portrait must have been accompanied by one (now lost) of her husband.
Inscriptions
note on cradle appears on a notation in chalk (originally) slightly scratched faintly letters " Mr A.M.C [?] or K [?] Reyve"
Provenance
1987-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 1987: (Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, and Bruno Meissner, Zurich, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1987: (Nouveau Drouot, Paris, sale, March 17, 1987, no. 147, sold to Thomas Agnew and Bruno Meissner) Possibly until 1987: Private collection, Tournai (?), Belgium c. 1540/1545-after 1581: Dirick [1512-1578] and Machtelt van Teijlingen [d. after 1581], Alkmaar, Holland
Exhibition history
The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988). Gallery One 2012. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017). Forget Me Not. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (organizer) (September 30, 2021-January 16, 2022). Maarten Van Heemskerck (1498-1574). Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, Alkmaar, Netherlands (organizer) (September 28, 2024-January 19, 2025) https://stedelijkmuseumalkmaar.nl/nu-te-zien/verwacht/maarten-van-heemskerck.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Maerten van Heemskerck (Dutch, 1498–1574)
- Date
- c. 1540–45
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- Framed: 107 x 97 x 8 cm (42 1/8 x 38 3/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 85 x 74 cm (33 7/16 x 29 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1987.136
More by Maerten van Heemskerck in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00000271
Powered by Art Trackers