Dutch painter caspar netscher munich

A portrait of unknown people – like this one – always prompts questions, but the picture itself lets us learn about a sitter, even if we don't know their identity. At this time in European art, very little was included in a portrait without a purpose. They sometimes flattered, but also gave information about the sitter – their status, their likes and dislikes, their allegiances, their mood perhaps – and often celebrated events like military victories, promotions, anniversaries or marriages.

In Caspar Netscher’s painting, the hand resting gently on the little girl’s shoulder suggests that the woman is most likely her mother. There is a faint likeness: the little girl still has the rounded cheeks of childhood, but the eyes and mouth of the two are similar. They wear the soft, relaxed fashions of the 1670s and 80s – rich fabrics swathed around the body, with a little delicate white linen and lace to flatter pearly skin. The mother’s neckline is a little lower than the child’s, but is modest compared to portraits of more ostentatious women. They do wear pearls, however, which would have been natural. In the case of the mother’s necklace they’re perfectly round