Cunera Olshoorn; Remember this little girl?

Hello my friends,

In april 2021 I showed you the first stages of the portrait of Cunera Olshoorn that hangs in the (temprarily closed) Rotterdam Museum. Apart from being a beautiful painting (in my opninion.) it also happens to have a family connection to my partner. 

The painting of the miniature portrait had progressed in april to the stage in the picture below.

The original portrait was painted in 1683. At that time Cunera was only 2 years old. So the face is probably the only real thing from the girl in this composition. Posing for a painting is nigh impossible for a two year old. 

Portraying children with older bodies and/or unnatural (for their age) poses was not uncommon in that time. Symbolism was sometimes more important than realism. This picture, like many paintings and portraits of that era have multiple layers of meaning. 

Many items depicted in the painting are not just part of the pretty scenery. They have hidden meanings. The fact that she's seen descending a set of steps, holding flowering rose, having a dog accompanying her around her feet, and the blooming or wilted roses strewn around all have a symbolic meaning. 

These point to youth, fidelity, growing up, the fragility of health/life and the uncertainties of the future. A bit sombre when you think about it. Perhaps she was a sickly child or her parents lost some children/newborns before Cunera was born? Who knows. 

It seems as though the portrait is intended as  a celebration of a beautiful child, but at the same time a warning that good things should not be taken for granted. But thankfully she did not die in childhood like many did in thise days. We do know that Cunera made it into adulthood, got married and started her own family. 

And even in this childrens portrait the parents want to show that they were cultured and educated people. Although you may not recognise it, the statue on the right side of Cunera is modelled after the so called Flora Farnese. The goddes Flora in the famous Farnese marbles. One of the first grand renaissance collections of classical statuary.  Statues very well known in the 17th and 18th centuries. The original stands in Rome. The copy in this photo stands in the Parc de Tuilleries in Paris. 

But back to the miniature painting by Diane. In the pictures above you can see how the multiple (thin) layers of paint and colour have transformed the picture.

It is almost finished, but not entirely. After Diane has finished the painting, she will also make a frame for the painting. It will be based on the frame surrounding the original portrait.

Well that's it for now. Be safe. 

Huibrecht