(b. 1584/85, Hulst, d. 1651, Antwerpen)

Elisabeth (or Cornelia) Vekemans as a Young Girl c. 1625 Oil on wood, 123 x 93,4 cm Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp

There are four portraits of the Vekemans family in the collection of Mayer an den Bergh. Joris Vekemans was a prominent AAntwerp merchant, as witnessed by the wealth displayed in these portraits. He died in 1625, shortly after the birth of his sixth child. He probably commissioned all portraits at once, some time before January 1625. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that two of the portraits are not entirely finished, probably due to the unexpected death of the man who ordered them.

The portraits are all conceived as pairs. De Vos treated the subjects in each pair in a similar manner, as we can see from the corresponding poses, background and colouring, which create a strong sense of unity between them.

With his portraits of the Vekemans family Cornelis de Vos left behind the stereotypical faces of his early works, creating instead a series of very realistic characters - the children's faces are charming, imbued with a sense of youthful pride and shyness. It is, of course, the treatment of the face that lends a successful portrait its expressive power.

The portrait of Elisabeth Vekemans is incomplete, as we see from the unfinished background, the somewhat casual execution of the skirt and the absence of the mainly deep red, intensely colourful details like the socks, tie, jewellery and so on that might have enlivened the sombre, green palette. Even so, the portrait stands out for the sureness with which the face is rendered and the daring highlights in the outer garment, which skillfully suggest the material. The portrait is fairly unusual for its time. Life-size, full-length portraits of young girls only really appear in De Vos's work from the 1630s onwards.

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Author: VOS, Cornelis de Title: Elisabeth (or Cornelia) Vekemans as a Young Girl Time-line: 1601-1650 School: Flemish Form: painting