Portret van Corvina Hezenbroek van Hofdijck (1602-67)

About this artwork

oil on panel

Art Historical Context

This elegant portrait by Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt captures Corvina Hezenbroek van Hofdijck at the age of sixteen, painted in 1618 during the early years of the Dutch Golden Age. Van Mierevelt, one of the most sought-after portraitists of his time, specialized in depicting members of the Dutch elite with remarkable precision and dignity. The modest scale of the oil-on-panel work (just over half a meter high) suggests it was intended for private display, perhaps as a betrothal or family keepsake. Corvina belonged to a prominent Dutch family, and her portrait reflects the growing confidence of the Republic’s upper classes. Van Mierevelt’s restrained style—characterized by smooth brushwork, luminous skin tones, and careful attention to lace and jewelry—conveys both youthful freshness and social standing without unnecessary embellishment. Today in the Rijksmuseum collection, the painting offers a rare glimpse of a young woman whose long life (1602–1667) spanned much of the seventeenth century, allowing visitors to connect personally with the individuals who shaped the Dutch Golden Age.

About the Artist

Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt · 1567–1641

Son of the goldsmith Jan Michielsen van Miereveldt and a pupil (when he was 12 years old) of Antonio Blocklandt (known as Montfort) in Utrecht and later of Willem Willemsz. It is very difficult to distinguish his work from the innumerable copies of his paintings that he allowed to be made, even sometimes signing them with his own name. Basically a portrait painter, he also painted historical and ...