Lot 32

Karel Škréta (1610 - 1674) A PORTRAIT OF A LADY

This painting portrays a married young woman, a representative of the city patriciate. She is dressed in a dark dress with a modest neckline decorated with a shiny ribbon and lace. Her hair is covered under a lace bonnet with reticella and pearls. At the lower edge of the painting one can identify a hint of cropped sleeves, and the overall impression of the attire seems familiar; similar clothing also appears on Škréta’s well-known family portrait, and Dionysius Miseroni’s wife Marie Ludmila is wearing it. Portrait of a Young Lady is particularly striking for the fine details presented in meticulous realistic form. Karel Škréta is one of Bohemia’s most prominent Baroque painters.

Karel Škréta was born into a Protestant family and excelled as a portrait and altar painter, draftsman and illustrator.

Cited in: Collected authors: Karel Škréta 1610–1674. Doba a dílo, 2010, pp. 84 and 85.