Portrait of a woman with a Fontange hairstyle and a black diamond.
Portrait of a woman, painted around 1700, attributed to Arnold van Boonen. The Fontange hairstyle, composed of curls gathered on the crown of the head, was very fashionable between 1690 and 1710 in European courts. Our lady is dressed in a French-style gown; French fashion was widespread in the courts of Northern Europe. The bodice is fitted and laced at the front.
Draped over her right shoulder, she wears a blue velvet coat, adorned with a brooch of pearls and a black diamond.
Black because in 17th-century paintings, diamonds appear black or very dark. This rendering was not due to the artists’ inability to represent the stone but to a practice of the diamond cutters themselves. At that time, diamonds did not yet reflect light effectively. To enhance their brilliance, cutters applied soot behind the stones, creating a contrast that gave the illusion of sparkle. This technique allowed the diamond to shine more brightly, even in its rudimentary form.
This is why, in old Renaissance and 17th-century paintings, diamonds are often depicted in black.
Arnold van Boonen (1669–1729), originally from Dordrecht, was one of the most renowned portrait painters in the Dutch Republic at the end of the 17th century. Trained in the Dutch tradition of realism, he skillfully combined the rigor of the Dutch school with the grace and lightness of French influences. Working in Amsterdam and The Hague, he painted numerous members of the nobility and the upper middle class, distinguishing himself by his talent for capturing the softness of faces and the sheen of fabrics.
Height without frame: 85 cm
Width without frame: 62 cm
Height with frame: 88 cm
Width with frame: 66 cm
Early 18th century
