An Unknown Lady

attributed to Pieter Tillemans (Antwerp 1684 – Suffolk 1734). Oil painting on canvas, An Unknown Lady, possibly Pieter Tillemans (Antwerp 1684 – Suffolk 1734) in the manner of Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 - Blackfriars 1641), 18th century. A portrait of a woman of uncertain age, standing three-quarter-length, head slightly inclined to the right, gazing to the right of spectator, wearing a single-strand pearl necklet and a décolleté blue dress, fastened from bust to waist with jewelled buttons, which also feature on her sleeves, her left hand, just above her waist, holding her cloak which falls over her right arm, her slightly outstretched right hand, holding a rose. Formerly known as Charlotte Bridgeman, Lady Myddelton, but the costume is of an earlier generation. The handling suggests an 18th century pastiche, possibly by Tillemans. What was thought to be the absence of a likeness of this important ancestress may have accounted for the imposture. Chirk Castle, Wrexham (Accredited Museum)