Portrait of a woman, possibly Cornelia van der Meer

Frans Hals's Portrait of a Woman, possibly Cornelia van der Meer of around 1640 depicts a Haarlem woman in the formal black dress with white lace collar and cuffs that constituted the standard presentation of Dutch bourgeois female respectability. The possible identification as Cornelia van der Meer is uncertain, but the portrait's specific qualities of observation — the particular shape of the face, the exact quality of the lace — create a distinctive individual presence within the formal convention.

Hals treats the female sitter with the dignified warmth that characterizes his mature portraits of Haarlem matrons. The white collar and cap are rendered with his signature bravura technique, each fold captured in a single confident stroke of lead white.