Portrait of a Woman at a Window

Ferdinand Bol

Dutch, 1616-1680

Portrait of a Woman at a Window, 1650-1654

Oil on canvas, 34 1/4 x 27 1/4 inches

Gift of Ernst Bever

2017.10.4

Born in Dordrecht in The Netherlands, Ferdinand Bol learned the rudiments of painting under the tutelage of Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (1594-1652). In 1637, at the age of twenty, Bol left Dordrecht for Amsterdam to work in the studio of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) whose influence would dominate the artist’s work for the rest of his career. Bol became an independent master around 1642. As a result of his work being so closely related to Rembrandt, they were mistaken for the work of his mentor for centuries afterward. Although his style changed, Bol painted very similar subjects to Rembrandt – histories and tronies (representation of a single figure, usually half-length, wearing fancy costume rather than contemporary dress).