Portrait of Catharina Both van der Eem

Catharina Both van der Eem was born in 1589 and died in 1666, the same year as Frans Hals. This portrait of her dates from around 1620, and the Louvre gives it to the circle of Frans Hals, a painter working close to him who cannot be named with confidence. The museum has also weighed the idea that it copies a lost original by Hals, and finds it weak.

What the picture records with care is how a wealthy Haarlem woman dressed to be seen. Her gown is black damask, a sober colour and an expensive one to dye. Down her bodice runs a stiff panel of gold embroidery with a gold chain looped across it, and above it rise a wide millstone ruff and a lace cap. Lace cuffs, bracelets and rings complete the display. The portrait hangs in room 846, among Haarlem paintings of Hals's day.