Artwork
Woman with Mirror
Woman with Mirror is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Lambert Sustris. It dates from 1550 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1550 by Lambert Sustris, a Dutch artist active in Venice, this oil painting presents a solitary female figure in an open landscape. The work exemplifies the Mannerist style that flourished in mid‑sixteenth‑century Italy, and it now belongs to the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows a woman standing barefoot, her light dress slipping off one shoulder while a dark red cape drapes over her back. She holds a small hand‑mirror in one hand and a long red cloth in the other, gestures that invite contemplation of self‑reflection and the transient nature of beauty.
Technique & Style
Sustris employs a nuanced chiaroscuro, using contrasts of light and shadow to model the figure’s face and torso. The brushwork is visible in places, revealing a slightly worn surface where faded pigments allow underlying strokes to emerge, a hallmark of the painter’s Mannerist handling of form and space.
History & Provenance
Trained in the workshop of Titian and influenced by Parmigianino, Sustris completed the painting after accompanying Titian on a trip to Augsburg in the late 1540s. The work entered the Rijksmuseum’s holdings in the twentieth century, where it has remained on public display.
Context
During the period of its creation, Venetian art was marked by a synthesis of Northern European detail and Italian compositional elegance. Sustris, known in Italy as Alberto de Olanda, merged his Dutch roots with the Venetian coloristic tradition, producing a piece that reflects both cultural currents.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lambert Sustris (c. 1515/1520 – c. 1584) was a Dutch painter active mainly in Venice. The works Sustris completed in Italy exhibit either a Mannerist style or qualities that may be deemed proto-Baroque. He is also…
