Anna van Bergen
by GOSSART, Jan, Oil on oak panel, 56 x 43 cm
Anna van Bergen (1492-1541) was the daughter of John of Brabant-Glymes, Lord of Bergen-op-Zoom. She married Adolf of Burgundy (c. 1489-1540), Admiral of Zeeland, in 1509. Gossart worked for Adolf and other members of the nobility following the death, in 1524, of his primary patron, Philip of Burgundy, who was Adolf’s granduncle, and it was this time that he would have had an occasion to paint Anna’s portrait.
The present painting is one of the few surviving female portraits by Gossart. The sitter is dressed extravagantly as is appropriate for a woman of Anna’s social standing and wealth.