Portrait of a Woman near a Fountain, a Rose in Her Hand

About the Artwork

The Dutch artist Johann Thopas made meticulous drawn portraits of merchants and intellectuals in the Dutch city of Assendelft. His drawn portraits—made faster and for less expense than painted portraits—appealed to middle-class patrons, as did his unique style combining naturalistic likenesses with elaborate background settings. Using a combination of leadpoint and ink, Thopas achieved remarkable tonal subtlety in this image of a well-dressed woman holding a flower in front of an ornate neoclassical garden.

Inscriptions

verso, number “4” in graphite; collector’s stamp “PG”? in red ink

Provenance

1914-1918: Collection Wellesley, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England June 27, 1922: Sotheby's, London, England June 20, 1928: Sotheby's, London, England Collection Henry Scipio Reitlinger [1882-1950], London, England June 22, 1954: Sotheby's, London, England Private Collection, Amsterdam, Netherlands March 4, 2019: the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Quick Overview

Artist: Johan Thopas (Dutch, 1630–1700)
Date: 1680–85
Medium: lead point with accents in black ink on vellum
Dimensions: Support: 33.2 x 25.7 cm (13 1/16 x 10 1/8 in.); Image: 22 x 18.9 cm (8 11/16 x 7 7/16 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 2019.13

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.