The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Vertically oriented full-length oil painting depicting a woman and child with light skin tones, curly brown hair, and wearing dresses. The woman's dress is dark red with buttons down the front and a swirling pattern on the sleeves. A frilly, dark grey collar encircles her neck. She faces slightly to our left, looking at us, her left hand hanging by her side. The child reaches up for this hand, wearing a gold-striped, dark blue dress.

A Genoese Lady with Her Child

c. 1623–25

Anthony van Dyck

(Flemish, 1599–1641)
Flanders
oil on canvas
Framed: 266.5 x 184 x 12 cm (104 15/16 x 72 7/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 217.8 x 146 cm (85 3/4 x 57 1/2 in.)
Gift of the Hanna Fund 1954.392
Location: 003 Special Exhibition Hall

Did You Know?

This portrait was a departure from the painting style popular at this time, focusing less on a demonstrative display of wealth and status and more on capturing the essence of the sitter. Although the clothing denotes affluence, this intimate interaction between mother and child transcends class boundaries.

Description

Prior to the 1600s, large, full-length portraits of wealthy clients usually emphasized the trappings of status above any other qualities. The accuracy of the likeness and vivacity of the person remained subordinate to an easily readable sense of the sitter’s power and position in society. Artists such as Van Dyck transformed this tradition, which sent shockwaves through Genoa, instantly changing the direction of elite portraiture in the city. While the elaborate garb of this unidentified sitter and the scale of the image certainly mark her status, the warmth Van Dyck imparted to her face, the drama of the background, and the touching detail of the child spontaneously reaching upward add life, energy, and theatricality to the work.
  • Du Pre Alexander, Second Earl of Caledon, purchased through George Augustus Wallis in Florence, March 1829;
    J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), London and New York, by 1902;
    [M. Knoedler & Co., New York], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954.
  • Arendsee, M., and M. Steinman-Arendsee. "Take the CAN disability aesthetics tour, at the Cleveland Museum of art." CAN Journal (Winter 2019/20): 76-87. Mentioned: p. 77
    Francis, Henry S. “A Genoese Portrait by Van Dyck.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 6 (June 1955): 115–117. Mentioned: p. 115-117; Reproduced: p. 117 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Venetian Tradition: Catalogue of the Exhibition. Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Museum of Art: 1956. Mentioned: p. 22; Reproduced: pl. XVI
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 443 archive.org
    Saisselin, Rémy G. Style, Truth, and the Portrait. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1963. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 24
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 120 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 120 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 154 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982 . Mentioned: p. 11-13; Reproduced: p. 12
    Sanguineti, Daniele. Giovanni Bernardo Carbone: 1616-1683. Genova : Sagep editori, 2020, 129. Reproduced: p. 129, fig. 150; Mentioned: p. 123.
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Motherhood across Time. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 5
    Lisby, Darnell-Jamal, William Griswold, Matteo Augello, Alessandra Arezzi Boza, Massimiliano Capella, Luke Meagher, Stefania Ricci, and Cleveland Museum of Art. Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 8, fig. 7
  • Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 2025-February 1, 2026).
    Anton van Dyck, Riflessi italiani. Palazzo Reale, Milano, Italy (organizer) (February 19-July 4, 2004).
    Van Dyck. Grande pittura e Collezionismo a Genova. Palazzo Ducale, Venice (March 22-July 13, 1997).
    Washington, D.C., The National Gallery of Art, 1990: "Anthony Van Dyck: Paintings in the Grand Manner," cat. no. 37, reproduced in color p. 179.
    London, British Institution, 1832, cat. no. 46.
    London, British Institution, 1854, cat. no. 62
    Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).
    Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963).
    In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).
    The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957).
    New York, NY, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1913: "A Loan Exhibition of Mr. Morgan's Paintings," Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin VIII (January, 1913), p. 6, reproduced p. 4.
    Brussels, Nouveau Palais, 1910: "Tresor de l'art belge au XVIIe siecle," no. LXIX, p. 154, plate 60 (catalogue published in 1912: see also literature)
    London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1902: "Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters," cat. no. 102.
  • {{cite web|title=A Genoese Lady with Her Child|url=false|author=Anthony van Dyck|year=c. 1623–25|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.392