Portrait of a Young Woman 1631

Thomas de Keyser painted this "Portrait of a Young Woman" with oil on canvas. He used the materials of his trade, but consider the sitter’s clothing. The massive ruff, the elaborately tailored gown: these involved hours of labor, most of it invisible to us. De Keyser’s brush renders the fabrics with careful attention to their weight and texture. This is not just showing off his technical skill. The artist is also evoking the Dutch mercantile system that made such finery available. The sitter’s gown and surroundings signify wealth and status derived from global trade networks. The intense black is significant. Black dye was expensive, difficult to produce, and a status symbol. It shows the family's ability to spend on luxury goods, signaling their economic and social standing within Dutch society. So, while we may admire de Keyser’s artistry, we should also consider the vast amount of labor, skill and capital involved in creating the material world he so faithfully represented. By focusing on the making, the painting encourages us to think about the society that produced it.