Elegant geklede vrouw met een medaillon

About this artwork

Een elegant geklede vrouw zit in een stoel. In de hand heeft ze een medaillon met een portret. Ze draagt een fontange.

Art Historical Context

In the delicate engraving *Elegant geklede met een medaillon (Elegantly Dressed Woman with a Med), created by Dutch printmaker Pieter Schenk () between 1680 1713, we encounter a poised figure embodying the refined elegance of the late Baroque era. Seated gracefully in a chair, the holds a small medallion featuring a portrait, her attire accentuated by a towering fontange—a fashionable headdress of lace, ribbons, and wire rose dramatically atop the head, popularized at the court of Louis XIV and adopted across Europe. This 245 × 182 mm work captures the opulence of 17th-century Dutch fashion during the waning years of the Golden Age, when prints like Schenk's served as affordable visual records of high society styles. The fontange, named after the Duchesse de Fontanges, symbolized status and femininity, often depicted in genre scenes to appeal to a burgeoning middle-class audience interested in aspirational imagery. As an engraving, Schenk's meticulous technique—incising lines into a metal plate for inked impressions—allowed for precise details in fabric folds, jewelry, and expressions, making it ideal for dissemination. Schenk, renowned for portraits and maps, contributed to the era's print culture, bridging art and everyday life for collectors and admirers alike.