Focus on this artwork and discuss the abstract.
Portrait of Marguerite van Mons is an oil-on-canvas painting by Belgian painter Théo van Rysselberghe. The  girl portrayed is ten-year-old Marguerite van Mons, depicted shortly after the death of her mother. Théo van Rysselberghe was friends with Emile van Mons, a lawyer and well-known art lover, and painted his daughter Marguerite in June 1886. He had previously painted a portrait of her sister Camille (Portrait of Camille Van Mons, 1886) which is now part of the collection of the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum in Hanover.The portrait shows Marguerite in a simple black dress in front of a pastel blue door with a number of gilded ornaments on it. The painting derives its strength from the mysterious, dreamy look in the girl's eyes and the masterfully elaborated background that fully serves the model. Van Rysselberghe's portraits from this period are often compared to Whistler's works, but Velázquez, admired by both Van Rysselberghe and Whistler, was also a source of inspiration. The painting is currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent.
Belgian Whistler Ghent Hanover Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum Théo van Rysselberghe Velázquez Museum of Fine Arts