Maria Verelst

1680 – 1744

Dutch painter, part of a family of painters, niece of Simon Verelst. When she was three years old she moved to London, where she later studied with Simon Verelst and her father Herman Verelst. She became accomplished at finely detailed oil paintings and also as a languages teacher. According to anecdote, her success as a painter was due, at least in part, to her linguistic abilities. One night at the theatre some men near by were conversing at length in German and admiring Maria. She turned to them and, speaking in German, told them that to compliment her in such extravagant terms was no compliment. The men continued in Latin; when Maria then responded in Latin the men were impressed enough to make her acquaintance. Subsequently she painted a portrait of each, and as a result of the men's connections she built up a cultured clientele. A Portrait of a Young Man (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg) is attributed by some to Maria Verelst. Maria Verelst is known for miniatures and portraits.

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