Experts date the portrait of lady-in-waiting between 1623-1626. The exact story of its creation is unknown, there are only general considerations of art historians. The picture was painted in the late period of the artist’s work, by that time an accomplished master of monumental canvases and a head of a large art studio. The production of the paintings was on stream: the master would make a sketch of the painting, and the students had to complete it. The heads of major European states were honored to order a painting from a Flemish artist. Rubens became famous; in 1624, the King of Spain granted him a nobility. Rubens was in demand not only as a painter but also as a high-ranking diplomat at the Infanta’s court. At the same time, in his personal life, Rubens experienced tragedy after tragedy.

On March 21, 1611, Peter Paul Rubens and Isabella Brant had a firstborn daughter, Clara Serena. Isabella Clara Eugeniaof Austria, Infanta of Spain, ruler of the Spanish provinces of the Netherlands, may have been the godmother of the child, as indicated by the borrowed name and the title of sovereign. In 1623, at the age of 12, Clara Serena died after an illness. In 1625, Rubens’ close friend and a like-minded person, Jan Brueghel the Elder, died. In 1626, during an epidemic of plague, the artist’s wife, Isabella Brant, passed away. Rubens had a hard time dealing with these losses.

As its title suggests, the Hermitage painting depicts the court lady of the Infanta of Brussels, but this version is the hardest to substantiate. It is unlikely that an unknown lady-in-waiting could have ordered an expensive portrait from a court painter. The most common interpretation is that the portrait is a posthumous rendition of Clara Serena, freely interpreted by the artist, who portrayed her as an already mature young woman. Rubens often depicted children in his works. These sketches became part of the collection of family portraits.

Unfortunately, no paintings remain that allow us to unequivocally identify the appearance of Rubens’ daughter. There is a heavily cropped and unfinished painting from the collection of the Liechtenstein Gallery, called the childhood portrait of Clara Serena (sometimes “Portrait of the Artist’s Daughter”), based on its apparent resemblance to Isabella Brant. It is dated around 1616-1618. Another sketch, a girl very similar to Clara Serena, belonged to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York until 2013, when it was sold at Sotheby’s auction to an individual. A clear resemblance to the “lady-in-waiting” can also be seen in the appearance of the artist’s first wife.