Hand Painted The Straw Hat by Rubens Pendant and Pearl Necklace

This hand-painted lacquered miniature features a radiant recreation of the famous painting The Straw Hat* by Rubens lit with luminous 24K gold foil. The black onyx pendant (1-3/4" x 3/4") has been painstakingly covered with many layers of oil paint, egg tempura, gold foil, and lacquer to create the dramatic effect and signed in gold by the artist.  The pendant, crowned with a24K Swarovski crystal, hangs from a hand-knotted strand of Grade AA white pearls and gold foil Venetian beads with a 14K fluted clasp. 19"

* Portrait of Susanna Lunden, called Le Chapeau de Paille (The Straw Hat), is a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, located in the National Gallery, London. Rubens (1577-1640),a giant of Baroque art is one of the most influential painters of all time. His portraits have an energetic engagement with with their subject that breaks with the theatrical conventions of Renaissance portraiture. Susanna Lunden (1599-1643), the subject of this portrait, was Rubens's sister-in-law. She was the daughter of an Antwerp silk and tapestry merchant for wThis portrait sparkles; it perks you up. That hat - which is felt, not straw, despite the name by which this portrait became known in later years - is absurd, a folly, so wide and floppy with its soft, fluffy peacock's feather.