Description
Isabella Brant was Rubens’s first wife. He painted her many times in many different ways before she died at the age of 35 (she is a model for a nymph in the other work by Rubens in this room). This intimate portrait, painted at least five years before her death, suggests the close relationship between the painter and sitter through the warm palette, the luscious brushstrokes, and her lively expression.
Provenance
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1947-); Rosenberg and Stiebel and Pinakos, Inc./Rudolf Heinemann, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1947); Heirs of Marcus Kappel, sold to Rosenberg and Stiebel with Pinakos, Inc./Rudolf Heinemann (1930-1947); (Kappel estate sale, Paul Cassirer und Hugo Helbing, Berlin, Nov. 25, 1930, no. 16, withdrawn) (1930); Estate of Marcus Kappel (1919-1930); Marcus Kappel [1839-1919], Berlin (1914-1919); (Hugh Blaker [1873–1936], Old Isleworth, Middlesex, England, sold to Marcus Kappel (1914); (Glanusk sale, Sotheby's, London, April 29, 1914, no. 88, sold to Hugh Blaker) (1914); Lord Glanusk (1914)
Accession Number
1947.207
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
Framed: 83 x 73.5 x 9 cm (32 11/16 x 28 15/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 53 x 46 cm (20 7/8 x 18 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
