Among the works in the museum’s collections is a remarkable female portrait by the painter Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574): Portrait of a Lady spinning. This oil on canvas, datable to around 1531, can be associated with an early period in the artist’s career. Despite the presence of a coat of arms, the sitter has not yet been identified.

The painting is the focus of the December session, the final one for 2023, of Focus on the Work, an activity offered exclusively to Friends. Mar Borobia, Chief Curator of Old Master Painting at the Museum, will discuss and share aspects of the painting with participants in front of the work, including the artist’s career, the image and the symbolism contained in the composition and its innovative contributions to the genre of portraiture.