"The painting's subject is Eleonora Susette, born around 1756 in Berbice, a Dutch colony known for sugar and molasses in what is now Guyana. The artist is the Berlin-born artist Jeremias Schultz (1722-1800)."
"While still a teen, Susette was enslaved and made to work alongside her mother for the colony's governors. In the portrait she is elegantly dressed, sports fine jewellery and has a confident bearing."
"After around a year of research, Johnson was able to identify the artist as Schultz, who was mainly active in the Netherlands and typically painted portraits of merchants of the then-thriving Dutch colonial empire."
The Art Gallery of Ontario identified the subject of a portrait, Eleonora Susette, and its artist, Jeremias Schultz, after significant research. Susette, born around 1756 in Berbice, was enslaved as a teen. The painting, originally titled 'Portrait of a Lady Holding an Orange Blossom', has been retitled to reflect her identity. Identifying Schultz was challenging due to limited information about his life and work. The research involved examining a partial signature and another attributed work, leading to the identification of both the sitter and the artist.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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