Zelfportret met familieleden

Molenaer, Jan Miense (ca. 1610-1668)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

ca. 1635

Height:

62.3 cm  (24 1/2 in.)

Width:

81.3 cm  (32 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on panel

Place of creation:

Haarlem

Additional titles

Description

A whole family is portrayed making music. A girl plays a cittern, beside her stands a boy with a violin, then a lute-player, a singer and a cellist. In front of the cello lie music parts, for the bass and the tenor. This is not just a family portrait; the painting is crammed with symbolism. Making music together symbolizes the harmony in the family. Other symbols of harmony are the two clasped hands and the burning heart with two arrows on the harpsichord. The little dog on the cushion symbolizes fidelity. Moderation is important to a harmonious family life: the clock and the young singer beating time are allusions to this. On the right stands a little boy blowing bubbles. In one hand he holds a dish of soapy water (a shell on a stick), in the other a bubble pipe. Children blowing bubbles in 17th-century paintings are reminders of the brevity of life. The boy may already have been dead when this family portrait was painted. There are other deceased members of the family portrayed in paintings within the painting. One of the men behind the virginal, for instance, holds a small oval portrait in his hand, probably a miniature of his late wife.

People as subjects

Molenaer, Jan Miense (ca. 1610-1668) (Non-musician/dancer)

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Cittern [3106]
Lute [3394]
Violin [3573]
Violoncello [3582]
Virginal [2257]

Musical works

illegible music notation

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1
image link 3

Bibliographic references

Hinz, Berthold. "Das Familienbildnis des J.M. Molenaer in Haarlem: Aspekte zur Ambivalenz der Porträtfunktion", Städel Jahrbuch N.F. 4 (1973) 207-216, img. 1.

Gleich, C.C.J. von. "Huismuziek in de Gouden Eeuw", Openbaar Kunstbezit 10 (1966), 9.

RIdIM record id

3009