Who painted Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan?

Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan was painted by Cornelis van Cuylenburgh in 1776-01-01.

Where can I see Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan?

Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan?

Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan is associated with Rococo painting.

Can I buy a print of Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan?

Museum-quality prints of Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan

Cornelis van Cuylenburgh , 1788

Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Cornelis van Cuylenburgh. It dates from 1788 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting shows the offspring of Barend Goudriaan, a prominent Amsterdam merchant, arranged in a formal grouping that emphasizes familial continuity.

The painting shows the offspring of Barend Goudriaan, a prominent Amsterdam merchant, arranged in a formal grouping that emphasizes familial continuity. The children are rendered in period attire, their gestures and gazes suggesting both youthful innocence and the expectations of bourgeois propriety. Symbolic elements such as the modest furnishings and the inclusion of a family portrait on the wall underscore themes of lineage, social status, and the transmission of heritage.

The composition functions as a visual record of the family’s place within the elite circles of 18th‑century Dutch society.

Technique & Style

The portrait is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for late-eighteenth-century Dutch portraiture. The canvas measures 75 cm in height by 59 cm in width, an upright format well suited to a multi-figure group portrait of children.

Stylistically, the work belongs to the tradition of formal Dutch portraiture associated with Cornelis van Cuylenburgh, employing the oil medium to render the sitters with the polished finish and careful attention to costume and likeness characteristic of the genre. The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

No information is available in the consulted sources regarding the painting's current condition, specific handling of the paint surface, or detailed stylistic analysis beyond its classification as a portrait.

History & Provenance

Cornelis van Cuylenburgh created the oil-on-canvas portrait titled Portrait of the Children of Barend Goudriaan in 1776. The work was commissioned to depict the children of Barend Goudriaan, executed in the portrait genre using oil paint on canvas. It measures 75 cm in height and 59 cm in width. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

Context

Cornelis van Cuylenburgh painted this 1776 oil portrait for merchant Barend Goudriaan, depicting his children in a domestic setting characteristic of late 18th-century Dutch family portraiture. The work entered the Rijksmuseum collection shortly after its creation, reflecting the institution's early acquisition policy for representative examples of Dutch portraiture. Art historians view it as an important example of bourgeois domesticity in pre-Napoleonic Netherlands, though scholarly analysis remains limited compared to contemporaries like Rembrandt's group portraits.

Overview

Cornelis van Cuylenburgh’s oil painting, dated 1788, presents a domestic portrait of three children from the family of Barend Goudriaan. Executed in a modest size, the work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies late‑18th‑century Dutch portraiture, focusing on intimate family moments rather than formal, public display.