More paintings by Ferdinand Bol
Although there are no records telling us who this young woman is, we can learn quite a lot about her from her clothes and jewellery, and her pose. She is expensively dressed; the fan she holds was a costly accessory and in vogue at the time. Bol also seems to be emphasising her high social status...
The painting divides neatly down the middle. On the left side we have books and globes, then considered key repositories of knowledge. And on the right is the world of thought and reflection represented by the sitter, who adopts the classic thinker’s pose: hand on chin, eyes apparently unfocused,...