Portrait of a woman playing the viola-da-gamba, formerly identified as Margaret Lemon
Anthony van Dyck·1637
Historical Context
Portrait of a Woman Playing the Viola da Gamba (c. 1637-40), in the Bavarian State Painting Collections, was formerly identified as Van Dyck's mistress Margaret Lemon, though this identification is now disputed. The sitter is shown in the act of playing a viola da gamba, creating an intimate scene that combines portraiture with the depiction of music-making. Musical instruments carried rich symbolic associations in seventeenth-century painting — harmony, sensuality, and the transience of earthly pleasure. Van Dyck's treatment emphasizes the sitter's beauty and the graceful movement of her hands on the instrument, creating a portrait that functions as both likeness and allegory. The painting dates from Van Dyck's final years at the English court.
Technical Analysis
This work demonstrates Anthony van Dyck's command of Baroque-period painting techniques.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the intimate scene of music-making — the sitter shown playing a viola da gamba, formerly identified as Van Dyck's mistress Margaret Lemon.
- ◆Look at the graceful movement of hands on the instrument, with musical instruments carrying rich symbolic associations of harmony and transience.
- ◆Observe this painting from Van Dyck's final years at the English court at the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
