3-068-447 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Coffin Portrait of a Young Woman, 1686. Additional Info: Coffin portraits, typical of Polish funeral rituals in the Baroque period, were characterised by more in-depth, insightful physiognomic characteristics of the models. Their primary task was to remind of the deceased person. They were hanged on the coffin containing the decaying body, and as if in opposition to this natural process of passing away, coffin portraits kept the image of a living person, often in his or her peak. This portrait is no different. It shows a young, eighteen-year-old brunette, beautifully and carefully combed, dressed in an elegant outfit, richly decorated with laces. On the exposed, slender neck hangs a double golden chain and a quadruple string of pearls. Pearl earrings decorate ears. Unfortunately, we do not know any details about this character. The inscription on both sides of the head only indicates that her initials were MR and she died on 14 May 1686. Tomasz Zaucha