Artwork
Family Portrait
Family Portrait is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Adriaen Thomasz. Key. It is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado. Adriaen Thomasz.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
These objects function as vanitas symbols: the skull alludes to mortality, the book to learning and piety, and the hourglass to the passage of time.
Family Portrait by Adriaen Thomasz. Key shows a man, woman, boy, and girl arranged as a family group, accompanied by a skull, an open book, and an hourglass. These objects function as vanitas symbols: the skull alludes to mortality, the book to learning and piety, and the hourglass to the passage of time.
Together they suggest a meditation on the brevity of life and the importance of virtuous knowledge, transforming a conventional likeness into a moral reminder of death's inevitability.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on oak panel, the painting measures 91.4 × 114.8 cm and dates to 1592.
The composition is a vertical family portrait showing an adult couple with two children, accompanied by symbolic still-life elements including a skull, an open book, and an hourglass. Handling emphasizes crisp delineation of costume and features, with smooth blending in the flesh areas and more deliberate brushwork in drapery and accessories. The palette is restrained, dominated by dark backgrounds that heighten the luminosity of the sitters' faces and clothing.
History & Provenance
Adriaen Thomasz. Key executed the oil painting Family Portrait in 1592. The work was created on a panel support and depicts a group comprising a man, woman, boy, and girl alongside symbolic elements such as a skull, book, and hourglass.
The painting is currently held in the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it is displayed in Hall 056. No further details regarding the original commission or the specific chain of ownership prior to its arrival at the museum are provided in the available records.
Overview
Adriaen Thomasz. Key's Family Portrait, painted in 1592, is an oil on panel work depicting a formal group of seven individuals. The Flemish artist, active in Antwerp, specialized in both portraiture and religious subjects.
This painting offers a glimpse into late 16th-century family life and artistic conventions of the Low Countries, characterized by a somber and reflective mood. It is currently housed in the Museo del Prado.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Adriaen Thomasz. Key (c. 1544 in Antwerp – after 1589 in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of portraits and religious paintings, a draughtsman and a printmaker. He worked for a while in the Antwerp workshop of the…
