Alexander Van Rensselaer
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
36 1/4 x 28 3/8 in. (91.7 x 71.5 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mabel Van Rensselaer Johnson, 1959
Accession Number
61.70
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking portrait, *Alexander Van Rensselaer*1837), captures the dignified presence of a prominent American figure from a storied New York family. Painted by George P. A. Healy, a leading portraitist of the era, the oil-on-canvas work measures 36¼ × 28⅜ inches and exemplifies the meticulous realism of early 19th-century Americanure. Healy, trained in Europe and known for his luminous depictions of elites, renders Van Rensselaer with a eye for texture and expression, using layered glazes to achieve depth and lifelike skin tones typical of the medium. Created during a time of rapid America...