Portrait of Jacomina Claesdr van Ruyven (?-1509)

Technical notes

The arched support and the frame are made of a single piece of vertically grained oak. At the top of the reverse there is an old and possibly original hanging eye. Dendrochronology has shown that the plank is made from the same tree as the panel used for the pendant (SK-A-4715), and that the youngest heartwood ring was formed in 1538. The panel could have been ready for use by 1549, but a date in or after 1563 is more likely. The panel was covered with a light-coloured ground, which was applied to the whole surface including the frame. The rather schematic underdrawing, which is visible to the naked eye as well as with infrared reflectography, was executed with a dry material, probably black chalk, and may have been made with the aid of a cartoon (fig. a). It consists of contour lines for the fingers and the shape of the head, with schematic indications for the nose, mouth and eyes. The face was reserved, and the upper part of the woman’s left hand was painted on top of the dark garment. The paint layers are thin and transparent.