Portrait of a Young Girl (Christus)

Not to be confused with Portrait of a Young Woman (Vermeer).

Petrus Christus, Portrait of a Young Girl, c. 1465–70. 29 cm × 22.5 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Portrait of a Young Girl is a small oil-on-oak panel painting by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus. It was completed towards the end of his life, between 1465 and 1470,[1][2] and is held in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.[3] It marks a major stylistic advance in contemporary portraiture; the girl is set in an airy, three-dimensional, realistic setting,[4] and stares out at the viewer with a complicated expression that is reserved, yet intelligent and alert.[5]

It is widely regarded as one of the most exquisite portraits of the Northern Renaissance. Art historian Joel Upton described the sitter as resembling "a polished pearl, almost opalescent, lying on a cushion of black velvet."[6] The panel builds on the work of Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, and was highly influential in the decades after its completion. Its appeal lies in part in her intriguing stare, accentuated by the slight misalignment of her eyes, while the eyebrows are faintly skewed.[7]

  1. ^ Upton, 30
  2. ^ Kemperdick, 24
  3. ^ "Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums)". Bildnis einer jungen Dame. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  4. ^ Suckale, 84
  5. ^ Van der Elst, 69
  6. ^ Frère, Jean Claude. Early Flemish painting. Terrail, 2007
  7. ^ Harbison, 126–127