Pieter Nason - Portrait of a Woman - Walters 3771

This older woman, in lace collar, pearl necklace, and cut-stone earrings, holds open a fashionable pocket watch. The meaning is only clear when seen with Nason's portrait of her husband (Dulwich Picture Gallery, London), also dated 1663. The velvet curtain and the marble column reflect wealth, but the book and skull before the husband are to be "read" with the watch: the couple urges the viewer to look beyond simple pleasures that pass like the ticking of a watch and prepare for the death that comes to all.
Nason portrayed merchant and aristocratic clients in Amsterdam, England, and, finally, Berlin, where he worked for the German branch of the Orange family.