Portret van een vrouw met parelsnoer 1637 - 1638

Wenceslaus Hollar etched this portrait of a woman with a pearl necklace. Pearls, since antiquity, have symbolized purity, wisdom, and status. Notice how the pearls frame her neck, drawing our eye to her face, a motif that echoes through centuries. Think of Botticelli’s Venus, rising from the sea, adorned with pearls, or even ancient Roman sculptures where pearl necklaces denoted aristocratic status. But consider too, the psychological weight of adornment. Pearls, formed through layers of accretion, mirror the self, built layer upon layer through experience. In a different context, Ophelia drifts in water, her pearls possibly alluding to lost innocence. Here, the woman’s gaze, direct and poised, suggests self-possession, while the pearls reinforce her status. This is no passive beauty; it’s a declaration of identity, resonating across time. The symbol reappears, transformed yet familiar.