The family of schepen (alderman) Joost van Vaneveld (1579-1655) and his wife Maria. There are 11 children present (and the dog) (museum Flehite, on loan from the St. Pieter and Blocklands Gasthuis).
Painted by Paulus Bor senior (the father of Paulus Bor) in Amersfoort in 1628. Centrally depicted is Joost van Vaneveld, the director of the St. Pieter and Blocklands Gasthuis (a place where the sick and elderly could be nursed and cared for) in Amersfoort, at the age of 49, with his wife Maria Fransdochter and their eleven children. Their clothes are characteristic for the (early) Dutch Golden Age. It's interesting to notice that 50 years after protestantism was declared the state religion this family (and the painter as well) are catholic. The oldest son Berend is shown as a student pastor with cross and chalice. In 1688 their eldest daughter Mary bequeathed the painting to the gasthuis.
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Nice to see something from Amersfoort. It's quite a stylised painting with all the family looking directly at the artist, almost like a photograph. I expect it was a way of recording all the family members for posterity.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful painting.
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