Pieter Borsseler (c. 1634 - 1687) - Portrait of a Lady Picking Oranges

Fine, richly coloured and highly detailed portrait of a lady picking oranges c.1655 attributed to Pieter Borseseler (1618-1660)

The elegant silk-clad sitter is depicted half length, in a confection of richly coloured drapery which is held together with jewelled fastenings and has strings of pearls strung across it. Her cloak is formed from fabric that has been woven with thin stripes of metal thread or ‘tinsel’ that was designed to catch the light.

She stands next to an orange tree which sits within and urn decorated with a grotesque mask. Her elegant neck is extended and as she turns to face the viewer she picks an orange. The artist has typically chosen to emphasise the smooth pearly white skin of the sitters gently sloping shoulders and décolletage, which are further offset by her necklace and earrings.

Her hair is worn in curls, some of which frame her face, whilst others cascade naturalistically around her bare shoulders. It is also perhaps worth noting the expressive use of the sitters lower arms as a focus of attention and site of erotic appeal as she gathers the fruit in the hem of her costume.

Seventeenth century audiences would have been well aware of the symbolism of fruit and flowers present in paintings. The presence of both in this painting securely identifies the plant as an orange tree which can be associated with fecudity, as the tree bears both fruit and flowers at the same time, and can produce so many of both.

Orange blossom was firmly associated with brides by the nineteenth century (when Queen Victoria was gifted betrothal jewellery with this iconography by Albert, and also chose to wear a wreath of orange blossom rather than a tiara.

In the seventeenth century oranges were an expensive and luxurious import from Spain and Portugal – and therefore a fitting fruit to display in homage to Queen Catherine of Braganza. As seen in this portrait, orange trees were grown in large pots which were kept outside in Summer and taken inside to over winter in a heated environment.

Pieter Borsseler or Pieter Borselaer (1633/1634 Middelburg - in or after 1687, Middelburg)

Pieter Borseler was a Dutch portrait painter who was prominent in England during the second half of the 17th century.

Borsseler was born in Middelburg. He was a student of Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert in Antwerp between 1651 and 1654. He eventually returned to Middelburg, but painted between 1665 and 1679 in England. In 1681 he is reported to be in The Hague and from 1684 and 1687 in Middelburg again.[

Borsseler's earliest known dated work is from 1664, but his signature work was his painting of the antiquarian Sir William Dugdale (1665), which established his distinctive sober and melancholic style. Borsseler also painted the portraits of Dugdale's wife and of Orlando Bridgman that are at Dugdale's seat of Merevale Hall. Several paintings of the Hoby family are at Bisham Abbey, Buckinghamshire, most notably his sensitive picture of the elderly Mrs Peregrine Hoby.

Borsseler also painted the writer Samuel Butler, now in the National Portrait Gallery,[and was probably responsible for the posthumous "Chesterfield portrait" of William Shakespeare, which is based on the Chandos portrait. His studio may also have painted the anonymous portrait of a woman now in the National Gallery.

Borsseler's style is closest to fellow Anglo-Dutch artist Gerard Soest, who coincidentally also painted Butler and a posthumous portrait of Shakespeare.

Of rare small size, this fine work is in an excellent state of conservation. It is housed in a later 18th century carved and gilded ‘centre and corner’ frame with a wonderful mellow patina.

I am most grateful to art historian Adam Busiakiewicz for highlighting potential authorship based upon other works by the artist, including Lot 45: Pieter Borsselaer (Middelburg circa 1640-1731) Portrait of a gentleman and his wife, both half-length, he wearing a brown tunic and cloak and she wearing a yellow satin dress. Bonhams. London, United July 06, 2011.

I am also grateful to Jacqui Ansell Costume Historian and Senior Lecturer, Christie’s Education for the detailed information and analysis that she has provided on fashion and costume.

Higher resolution images on request. Worldwide shipping available.

Canvas: 24” x 28" / 61cm x 71.5cm. Framed: 31" x 35" / 79cm x 89cm.