Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Title: Young Girl
  • Creator: Petrus Christus, painter
  • Description: Towards the end of the fifteenth century, Northern European artists began breaking away from the traditional profile portrait and moving towards the more sculptural three-quarters-profile. The young girl represented here engaged the viewer's gaze with a sideways glance, which imparts a sense of intelligence and personality to her. She appears individualized. The dark background against which she is set contrasts with her pale skin, which exhibits modeling on its left side, and the white collar of her dress, strongly projecting the contours of her form. She wears a black hennin on her head and an elaborate necklace.
  • Source: Wikimedia Commons
  • Rights: Public Domain
  • Subject (See Also): Headdresses Jewelry Portraits
  • Geographic Area: Low Countries
  • Century: 15
  • Date: ca. 1470
  • Related Work:
  • Current Location:
  • Original Location:
  • Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Paintings
  • Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Panel; Oil
  • Donor:
  • Height/Width/Length(cm): 29 cm/23 cm/
  • Inscription:
  • Related Resources: Berlin, Gemäldegalerie