Susanna van Collen (1606-37) wears the simple, loose garments, gaily-striped silk scarf from Asia, and uncovered hair (with pearls from the East Indies) of a wealthy lady posing as a shepherdess of antiquity. This portrait is one of a pair (with Walters 38.226) that was probably made to commemorate the marriage in 1626 of Jan Pellicorne (1597-after 1653) and Susanna van Collen, both from wealthy merchant families.
X-rays show that Poelenburch initially painted the couple in sober everyday attire with starched ruff collars, so Susanna looked more like the mother in the "Portrait of a Family". After Susanna's portrait was completed, and Jan's half executed, they decided to have themselves depicted instead in the newly fashionable, lighthearted manner. Then, after seven years of marriage and parenthood, the couple returned to the conventional style for portraits commissioned from an Amsterdam painter in Rembrandt's circle.
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Cornelis_van_Poelenburgh" class="extiw" title="w:en:Cornelis van Poelenburgh"><span title="Dutch painter (1594–1667)">Cornelius van Poelenburgh</span></a>
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