Portrait of a Lady with a Squirrel and Spaniel, 1690

This elegant portrait of a young woman, shown sitting in an idyllic, pastoral landscape, was painted by German painter Frederick Kerseboom. It is a prime example of the late-Baroque style, which blends realistic depictions with symbols of wealth and prestige. The sitter’s serene countenance is uncommon in the portraits of Sir Godfrey Kneller and other contemporaries of Kerseboom.

The subject’s identity is unknown. She is shown sitting in a naturalistic setting that shows a far-off view of a lake surrounded by trees, and she is dressed in lavish draperies with classical influences. It is possible that the landscape in the background shows the parkland of the sitter’s country house. She is shown with a spaniel resting a paw on her left hand and a pet squirrel that is tethered to a silver collar.

The presence of the squirrel in the work references portraits such as Hans Holbein the Younger’s Portrait of a Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling that have made this strange yet stylish pet more well-known. Indeed, heraldic references have been actively sought after by historians in the case of earlier portraiture, such as Holbein’s Lady with a Squirrel. Like this painting, though, it is still conceivable that the artist chose to show the sitter with her two cherished pets.