A Genoese Noblewoman and Her Son

Sir Anthony van Dyck

National Gallery of Art

A woman wearing a voluminous black dress with a wide, ruffled collar sits holding the hand of a young boy, who stands next to her, in this vertical portrait painting. The woman sits with her body in profile facing our left, and she looks in that direction. The boy stands at her feet, behind her legs to our left, looking out at us. Both have pale, peachy skin with rosy cheeks, dark blond hair, and brown eyes. The woman’s hair is pulled back and covered with pearls, and a few short tendrils curl around her face. Her long black dress has puffed, black-on-black brocade sleeves, and the skirt is cut with short, decorative slits. The skirt has a sheen where the light falls, suggesting it is silk. Her wide, stiff, ruffled collar is pleated into a figure-eight pattern around her neck, and a thick gold chain loops over one shoulder to the opposite hip. The sleeves have wide, ruffled cuffs, and she wears a gold ring with a slate-blue gemstone on the pinky finger of her right hand, closer to us. The boy’s small fingers wrap around the woman’s right hand, farther from us. His body faces us, and his other hand rests on his hip. His straight hair falls across his forehead and to his ears. His suit has a crimson-red, leafy pattern against gray satin, and the sleeves are also nickel gray. A wide, lace-trimmed collar rests along his shoulders. A brown and white dog frolics behind the boy, looking up at him with mouth open and tongue hanging out. The woman’s chair is framed by two stone columns streaked with rust red and taupe, and they extend off the top edge of the composition. A balustrade runs behind the boy along an opening beyond. The top corner of an entablature or lintel supported by columns is visible against a steel-gray, cloudy sky. A red drape flutters above the pair, along the top edge of the canvas, and the red and brown woven carpet below kicks up at the base of the column closer to us.