Artwork

Portrait of the Family of Adrianus Bonebakker with Dirk L. Bennewitz

Portrait of the Family of Adrianus Bonebakker with Dirk L. Bennewitz is an oil painting by the Biedermeier artist Adriaan de Lelie. It dates from 1809 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The presence of Bennewitz alongside the family suggests a close personal or professional association significant enough to warrant inclusion in the portrait.

The painting is a group portrait of the family of Adrianus Bonebakker, shown together with Dirk L. Bennewitz. As a family portrait, the work represents the social standing and domestic identity of the Bonebakker household through the inclusion of multiple generations or kin gathered in a single composition, a common convention in early nineteenth-century Dutch portraiture. The presence of Bennewitz alongside the family suggests a close personal or professional association significant enough to warrant inclusion in the portrait.

The work belongs to the genre of portrait painting and depicts a family group, emphasizing collective identity rather than individual likeness alone. Held in the Rijksmuseum collection, it reflects the era's interest in commemorating prominent households through formal group imagery.

Technique & Style

Adriaan de Lelie executed this portrait in 1809 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 66 cm in height and 83.5 cm in width, fitting the standard dimensions for a group portrait of its era. As a genre painting classified specifically as a portrait, the piece depicts the family of Adrianus Bonebakker alongside Dirk L. Bennewitz.

The handling of the medium aligns with the artist's practice in the Northern Low Countries during the early nineteenth century.

History & Provenance

Portrait of the Family of Adrianus Bonebakker with Dirk L. Bennewitz is housed in the Rijksmuseum collection under inventory number SK-A-1835. The work was created in 1809 in the Northern Low Countries and has been part of the Rijksmuseum's holdings since its acquisition. It was exhibited in the Rijksmuseum's 19th-century portrait gallery, as documented in the museum's exhibition records.

Context

The 1809 oil painting Portrait of the Family of Adrianus Bonebakker with Dirk L. Bennewitz by Adriaan de Lelie entered the Rijksmuseum collection shortly after its creation and has been displayed as a prime example of Dutch portraiture from the late Napoleonic period. Contemporary accounts praised its compositional clarity and psychological depth, while modern scholarship situates it within de Lelie's development of family portraiture that blends Enlightenment realism with emerging Romantic sensibilities. The work's placement in the museum underscores its significance as a representative piece of early 19th-century Dutch domestic painting.

Overview

Adriaan de Lelie’s 1809 oil painting presents the household of Adrianus Bonebakker together with the goldsmith Dirk L. Bennewitz. Executed in the early nineteenth‑century Biedermeier idiom, the work measures a modest size and is now part of the Rijksmuseum’s permanent holdings. It captures a domestic scene in a warmly lit interior, emphasizing the cohesion of the family unit.

Own this work as a print

Artist & collection

Artist

Adriaan de Lelie

Adriaan de Lelie (19 May 1755 – 30 November 1820) was a Dutch painter. He was born in Tilburg. De Lelie was a pupil of A. Peeters, a painter of tapestries and ornaments, and afterwards of Andreas Bernardus de…