Jan Mytens
, Dutch, c.1614-1670
Title
A Family GroupDate1661
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
135.5 x 169.5 cm
Signedcentre right: A°. 1661 / Mytens F:
Credit LinePurchased, 1873
Object numberNGI.62
DescriptionThis portrait probably depicts the family of a nobleman, a government official or a rich burgher. It is one of Mytens’s most colourful and engaging groups. The separation of the old man in a robe-de-chambre and the young boy in a semi-classical outfit implies they are deceased. The other family members are wearing contemporary dress. The bunch of grapes, held by the stem, alludes to the couple’s chaste love in marriage. Trained by his renowned uncle, Daniel Mytens the Elder, Jan was the leading portrait painter in the Hague, the home of the stadholder and his entourage. Mytens received many commissions from the court and other prominent locals, among them members of the nobility and government officials. He was strongly influenced by the work of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. In this portrait, the mother and daughter, dressed in orange and blue, are strongly reminiscent of female figures seen in Van Dyck’s portraits.
March 2016
ProvenancePurchased, Paris 5 May 1873, Marquis de Rochebrousseau sale, lot 181 Label TextThis portrait probably depicts the family of a nobleman, a government official or a rich burgher. The separation of the old man in a robe-de-chambre and the young boy in a semi-classical outfit implies they are deceased. The other family members are wearing contemporary dress. The bunch of grapes, held by the stem, alludes to the couple’s chaste love in marriage. Mytens was the leading portrait painter in The Hague, where he received many commissions from the court and other prominent locals. He was strongly influenced by the work of Rubens and Van Dyck.