ATTRIBUTED TO JAN OLIS | A VANITAS PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN, HALF LENGTH, HOLDING A SKULL

Though a relatively rare artist, Jan Olis’s artistic legacy is quite varied. In addition to genre paintings, comprised of conversation pieces and guardroom scenes in the tradition of Anthonie Palamedesz. (1601-1673) and Pieter Codde (1599-1678), Olis is known for renderings of individual figures on a much larger scale, of which this painting serves as an illustrative example [1].

In this vanitas scene, the skull represents the transience of time and the inevitability of death. This symbolism is combined with a clear spiritual connotation as the young woman's eyes gaze towards the heavens seeking guidance. Jan Olis explored such imagery on other occasions, including a painting in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon of an Old Man Praying, which is datable to circa 1650. A notable difference between these two paintings is the disparity in age of the sitters. While the Lyon painting portrays an elderly penitent awaiting salvation, this painting shows a delicately rendered youthful sitter filled with piety and hope.

We are grateful to Dr. Paul Huys Janssen for endorsing the attribution to Jan Olis after firsthand inspection.

1. For more on his figural paintings, see F. Meijer, "Jan Olis (c. 1610-1676) as a painter of larger figures”, in Oud Holland, vol. 118, 2005, pp. 92-102.