Young Woman at an Open Half-Door

From the museum

This young woman, with her sidelong glance and the ambiguous lift at the corner of her mouth, exemplifies the playful nature of Rembrandt van Rijn’s character studies, called tronies, as well as his use of doorways and windows as clever framing devices. However, the overall flatness of this composition argues against Rembrandt’s authorship. It may have been created by a member of his prolific workshop and then endorsed as a studio product with the artist’s signature and date.

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

Materials & technique

Technique: oil painting, painting, painting (image making), painting techniques.

Inscriptions: Inscribed bottom center, on door: Rembrandt f. 1645.

Provenance

De Gueffier, Paris; sold Paillet, Paris, 1 March 1791, no. 67, “Une jeune Fille du pays de Frise, appuyée devant une croisée” (a young girl from Friesland leaning on a half-door”) together with a painting at half-length of a young soldier in armor, buckling his sword belt. François-Antoine Robit, Paris, sold Paillet and Delaroche, Paris, May 11 and following, 1801, no. 120, as a pendant to no. 119, portrait of a young warrior, for 2500 fr. to Lafontaine as an agent for Michael Bryan [see Edwards 1996, p. 304]; to George Hibbert, London [Hibbert and Sir Simon Clarke supplied the funds for Bryan’s extensive purchases at the Robit sale and retained many of the pictures]; offered for sale, Christie’s London, 13 1829, no. 68, bought in; by descent to Nathaniel Hibbert, until until 1875 [lent by him to London 1857 and memorandum dated April 28, 1905 of a conversation with Holland Hibbert in the Art Institute archives; copy in curatorial file]; by descent to A. Holland Hibbert [for this and the following transaction see the memorandum cited above]; sold by him to Prince Paul Demidoff (died 1885), San Donato, 1880; offered for sale Florence, Pillet, Le Roy and Mannheim, March 15-April 10, 1880, no. 1114, engraved, bought in [a half-length of a young warrior buckling his sword belt was no. 1120 in this sale, also engraved, and sold with 1894.1022 in the Gueffier, Robit and Hibbert sales, see Bikker 2005, no. R21]; by descent to Princess Demidoff (formerly Princess Lise Troubetzkoi), 1885; sold through Durand-Ruel, Paris, June 1890, as part of a group of Dutch and Flemish paintings, many from the Demidoff collection, with funds advanced by Martin A. Ryerson and other trustees of the Art Institute [annual report 1891]; the cost of 1894.1022 was re-imbursed by Ryerson.

Where to see Young Woman at an Open Half-Door

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. View on the museum’s official page.

See more works at Art Institute of Chicago or browse the full Rembrandt van RijnWorkshop of Rembrandt van Rijn collection.