Portrait of Willem Van Loon (later mayor of Amsterdam), aged 2 1/2

The portrait remained in the Van Loon family collection and was later acquired by the Museum Van Loon, where it continues to be displayed as a representative example of 17th‑century Dutch portraiture. Its attribution to Dirck van Santvoort has reinforced the artist’s reputation as a skilled painter of civic elites, contributing to scholarly reassessments of his role in the development of Amsterdam portrait conventions.

Dirck van Santvoort’s oil painting from 1636 depicts a young Willem van Loon, who would later become mayor of Amsterdam, at the age of two and a half. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and presents the child in a simple, dark setting that draws attention to his attire and expression.

The portrait captures Willem van Loon as a toddler, dressed in a dark coat over a light shirt with a ruff collar, holding a small folded cloth. The composition emphasizes his youthful innocence and status, hinting at the family’s aspirations for his future public role.