Artwork
Young Woman with a Carnation
Young Woman with a Carnation is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Willem Drost. It dates from 1656 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1656 by Dutch painter Willem Drost, this oil on canvas presents a young woman holding a pink carnation. The work exemplifies the portraiture typical of the Dutch Golden Age, combining a restrained composition with subtle symbolic detail. It is part of the collection of Denmark’s National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst).
Subject & Meaning
The sitter is shown in a modest dark dress with a white collar, a decorative brooch, and a dark head covering her hair. In her right hand she cradles a delicate carnation, a flower that in 17th‑century Dutch iconography often signified engagement or betrothal, suggesting a personal or matrimonial context for the portrait.
Technique & Style
Drost employs a muted palette of soft flesh tones against a deep brown background, using chiaroscuro to model the face and hands with gentle gradations of light. The contrast between the dark attire and the lighter highlights draws attention to the subject’s expression and the flower, while the brushwork remains refined and controlled, characteristic of mid‑century Dutch portraiture.
History & Provenance
After remaining in private hands for several centuries, the painting entered the Statens Museum for Kunst’s holdings, where it has been displayed as part of the museum’s representation of Dutch Golden Age art. Its attribution to Drost, a pupil of Rembrandt, has been confirmed through stylistic analysis and documentation linking the work to his late career.
Artist & collection
Artist
Willem Drost (baptized 19 April 1633 – buried 25 February 1659) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits.
