* Godfried Schalcken Made, near Breda 1643 - 1706 The Hague

Count Schönborn, Castle Pommersfelden, since at least 1719;
His sale, Paris, May 17, 1867, no. 111, for 2020 FF to de l'Espine;
Comte de Lambertye, Paris;
His sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, April 15, 1868, no. 57;
Goldschmidt, Paris;
His sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, May 14, 1898, no. 97;
Gabriel Cognacq, Paris;
His sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, June 11, 1952, no. 87, illustrated;
Princess Ermina Tonsson, Washington, D.C., until 1980;
Anonymous sale, Christie's East, November 19, 1980, lot 197, illustrated, for $5,800 to de Boer;
With P. de Boer, Amsterdam;
From whom purchased by the current collector, circa 1981.

Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Chefs-d'oeuvre des collections parisiennes, November-December, 1950, no.74;
Amsterdam, Galerie P.  de Boer, Voorjaarstentoonstelling van nieuwe aan winsten, March 11-June 11, 1981;
New York, National Academy of Design, Dutch and Flemish Paintings From New York Private Collections, 1988, cat. no. 46.

C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the most eminent Dutch Painters of the seventeenth Century, London 1913, no. 135;
P. Hecht & G. Luijten, "Nederland Verzamelt Oude Meesters Tien Jaar Aankopen En Achtergronden", in Kunstschrift Openbaar Kunstbezit, vol. 6, 1986, pp. 213-214, illustrated fig. 57;
T. Beherman, Godfried Schalcken, 1988, p. 244, cat. no. 150, illustrated;
A. Jensen Adams, Dutch and Flemish Paintings From New York Private Collections, exhibition catalogue, National Academy of Design, New York 1988, p. 111, cat. no. 46, illustrated p. 95.

Godfried Schalcken can be listed among the renowned Dutch artists known as the Leidse fijnschilders or "Leiden Fine Painters".  This group of artists, which included Gerrit Dou, Frans van Mieris, and Pieter van Slingeland, developed a highly meticulous style of painting small-scale genre scenes. Gerrit Dou, considered to be the founder of the Leiden School, perfected the use of meticulous brush strokes and vivid touches of color thereby creating an imaginary reality.  These gem-like pictures, with their brilliant touches of color and light, were admired and collected by the growing Dutch bourgeoisie as well as by foreigners.

The goal of the Leiden fine painters and their many followers was to portray reality in an ideal state.   Everyday themes, such as music lessons, servants going about their chores, and amorous couples were conceived and depicted neatly and with the most painstaking attention to detail.  In our Young Woman Weaving a Crown of Flowers, Schalcken has created a romantic and wistful composition.  A young girl, dressed as a country maid, albeit in silks, sits dreamily by a fountain weaving a crown of flowers. Her thoughts are momentarily distracted by the water spouting from the fountain.  The most important accomplishment is Schalcken’s use of light.  He has also bathed the young woman in warm golden rays which are contrasted by the shadowed boughs behind her head. 

At first glance, the modern viewer may interpret this composition as a wonderfully romantic or nostalgic moment in the young woman's life.  However, as in many Dutch paintings of that period, the composition is full of allegorical meanings that would not have been lost on Schalcken’s contemporaries.  The garland, for example, is not only a symbol of love and fertility, but also union.  Another clue to the painting’s meaning is the cupid that rests atop the fountain. The embracing couple in the distance leave no doubt that the subject of this composition is love and marriage.