Portrait of a Woman, Probably Susanna Lunden (Susanna Fourment, 1599–1628)

Peter Paul Rubens

ca. 1625–27 · Oil on wood · European Paintings

Rubens’s portraits of friends and family members are some of his most appealing paintings to a modern eye. This intimate likeness probably represents a sister of Helena Fourment, Rubens’s second wife and the youngest of the Antwerp silk merchant Daniel Fourment’s seven daughters. Rubens shifted the veil worn by the sitter in the course of working on the painting, and its earlier contours have become visible over time.

Artist

Peter Paul Rubens

Date

ca. 1625–27

Medium

Oil on wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1976