Portrait of a Lady

A woman of wealth and status, this sitter is dressed in fine clothing and jewels. Rubens (1577-1640) is able to recreate the appearance of sumptuous materials, deep purple silks and intricate lace. In areas such as her face, hair, and ribboned sleeves, the artist has developed a detailed and richly-coloured paint surface. In contrast, the cuffs and right hand appear sketchy, broadly painted, and perhaps unfinished.  

The title of this painting remains Portrait of a Lady because the identity of the sitter is disputed. A chalk study for this painting, currently in the Albertina, Vienna, bears an inscription identifying the sitter as Katherine Manners, Duchess of Buckingham (1603-1649). The reliability of this inscription has been questioned as several verified likenesses of Katherine Manners from later in her life seem to depict an entirely different woman. However, these inconsistencies could be explained by the fact that Katherine never left England and therefore did not sit for either the chalk drawing or the painting. Her husband, George Villiers (1592-1628), Duke of Buckingham, met Rubens in Paris in 1625 and commissioned several pictures including portraits of himself and his wife. Other scholars have argued that the sitter is a French lady-in-waiting as she is dressed in the latest courtly fashions from Paris; this identification is also disputed by some as her jewellery shows that she is extremely wealthy.