Abraham Janssens, Portrait of Woman, Oil on Canvas, Early 17th Century, Framed

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Abraham Janssens (Antwerp, Belgium, 1573 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1632)
Title: The Gypsy
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: without frame … Read more Abraham Janssens (Antwerp, Belgium, 1573 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1632)
Title: The Gypsy
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: without frame 116 x 94 cm – with frame 148 x 122 cm
Not signed

Expertise by Giuliano Briganti, art historian

Publications: La potenza del colore, exhibition curated by Elisabetta Longari, project created and produced by Mario Arlati and Banca Generali, Peruzzo Industrie Grafiche, Mestrino (Padua, Italy) 2014, p. 60; Il giuoco al tempo di Caravaggio. Dipinti, giochi, testimonianze dalla fine del ‘500 ai primi del ‘700, exhibition catalogue curated by Pierluigi Carofano, (7 December 2013 – 6 January 2014), Montale, Villa Castello Smilea, pp. 108, 148-149.

Abraham Janssens (1573-1632) is considered to be among the most eminent and significant authors of Flemish painting at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as one of the most important authors on the early European Baroque scene. During his life he travelled to Italy, mainly in Rome where his painting was impacted by Italian artists. He is mostly known for his large religious and mythological works, which show the influence of Caravaggio. He was a very prolific painter, with an active workshop in Antwerp.

The work can be part of a series of compositions depicted by Janssens between the second and third decade of the 17th century, variously dedicated to female figures often linked to mythological or astrological-occult themes. These female figures are personifications of virtues (or, more often, vices), allegories that can be interpreted in various senses and personifications of zodiac signs and astral terns. The canvas features a woman caught in the act of drinking wine and eating food. The veil on her head, similar to the one with which Circe is often depicted, alludes to the fact that she is an occult worker. The painting is an important testimony to the spread of a theme and a culture that devoted great attention to the universe of magic and the theme of destiny. See less