Portret van de vrouw van Johann Philip Lembke 1650 - 1713

This small portrait, and its companion of Johann Philip Lembke himself, were painted in oil on metal, at a scale more common to craft traditions. While we don’t know the exact date, we can assume that Lembke, who was a painter and printmaker, skillfully rendered these miniature portraits using fine brushes and a steady hand. Oil paint allowed for subtle gradations of tone and detail, bringing the sitters to life within such a small format. The process demanded precision and control, a testament to Lembke's artistic training. Though these portraits are not fine art in the traditional sense, they reflect the growing mercantile class of the 17th and 18th centuries, with the rise of a new form of wealth and consumerism, and small personal items like this could be produced and traded in larger numbers. The portraits give us a glimpse into their lives, and the skilled labor required to produce such intimate objects.