Artwork
Young Lady with a Fan
Young Lady with a Fan is an oil painting by the Baroque artist The Gansevoort Limner. It dates from 1737 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Young Lady with a Fan is an oil on canvas painted in 1737 by the anonymous artist known as the Gansevoort Limner. The work portrays a seated young woman, her blonde hair styled in a modest fashion, dressed in a green gown with a white under‑shirt and a matching belt, holding a fan on her lap.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter’s pose, with her left hand resting on a nearby table that bears a book and a small key‑like object, suggests a moment of quiet contemplation or private correspondence. The fan, a common accessory of the period, adds an element of genteel leisure.
Technique & Style
The painter employs chiaroscuro, contrasting illuminated areas on the figure with deeper shadows to model form and create spatial depth. A muted background, punctuated by a left‑hand window revealing a treed landscape under a cloudy sky, frames the composition without detracting from the central figure.
History & Provenance
Attributed to the Gansevoort Limner, a regional portraitist active in the early 18th century, the painting has remained in private collections since its creation, with no recorded exhibition history prior to its recent cataloguing.
Context
The work reflects colonial American portrait conventions, where modest yet refined attire and domestic settings conveyed the sitter’s social standing. The inclusion of a book and a key hints at literacy and property ownership, values emphasized in the period’s emerging middle class.
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