BRUYN, Barthel the Elder
(b. 1493, Cologne, d. 1555, Cologne)

Portrait of a Woman

1533
Oil on oak panel, 30 x 21 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This painting and its companion picture show an unidentified couple at half-length. They wear costume typical of the upper-class citizenry of Cologne, whose members were Bruyn's usual patrons. The woman's exposed hair indicates that the couple are depicted as engaged not married, as married woman of Cologne wore their hair completely covered. It is likely that these portraits were commissioned to commemorate the engagement.