Portrait of a family in an interior

Haften, Nicolas van (1663-1715)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

ca. 1700

Height:

46.4 cm  (18 1/4 in.)

Width:

55.5 cm  (21 7/8 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

This elaborate portrait presents a family of six (along with one servant, two dogs, and a painting of another family member); one daughter plays a harpsichord, while another may be a singer.
Commentary from museum website:
We do not know the name of this fashionable family, but their arrangement in the painting reveals much about them. The father sits near the center, and a figure who must be his wife stands behind. She has one hand on her husband's chair and the other on an oval portrait of his deceased first wife. The children have been raised well, as exemplified by the musical skill of the older daughters at the left and the obedience of the little ones at the right.

Iconclass

61B113
anonymous historical persons portrayed in a group, in a group portrait
48C7523
one person playing keyboard instrument
41E2
'trompe l'oeil'
48C5142
picture within picture
42B74
family group, especially parents with their child(ren)

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Harpsichord [2251] (double)

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

Notes

Attributed in sale catalog to P. Bergaigne
[Bergaigne, Pierre; French painter, active 1699-1716]

RIdIM record id

5892