Study of the head of a young woman in profile

In mid-1855, Matthijs Maris left The Hague to live for some years with his brother Jacob in Antwerp. He studied at the city’s Academy, where he encountered the work of the German Romantics. He was a good student who worked hard to master anatomy and perspective. As was then customary, he made many paintings and drawings of plaster casts of classical statues, as well as working from live models and producing portraits. In his spare time, he made portraits of friends and fellow-students. His graphic talents attracted notice, as did his gift for psychological portraiture. The latter won him a first prize for ‘expression’. The portrait shown here is a fine example of Matthijs Maris’s early work. The face is depicted in a highly realistic and detailed manner, with the angle of the light playing an important role.

Source: J. de Raad, T. van Zadelhoff (eds.), Maris: Een kunstenaarsfamilie, Zwolle, Laren 1991.