Artwork
Portrait of a Family in an Interior (family of Pieter de Graeff)
Portrait of a Family in an Interior (family of Pieter de Graeff) is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Emanuel de Witte. It dates from 1690 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows a middle-class Dutch family posed within a modest interior, emphasizing domestic order and moral virtue through carefully arranged furnishings and a quiet domestic setting. The composition reflects the sitter's status and the era's emphasis on familial harmony, while the realistic rendering of household objects underscores contemporary concerns with material stability and piety.
Technique & Style
This combination of portraiture with detailed interior architecture is characteristic of the artist's approach to capturing domestic life during this period.
Emanuel de Witte executed this 1678 work using oil paint on a canvas support. The painting measures 68.5 cm in height and 86.5 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece functions as both a formal portrait and a genre scene, depicting the family of Pieter de Graeff within a domestic interior setting.
This combination of portraiture with detailed interior architecture is characteristic of the artist's approach to capturing domestic life during this period.
History & Provenance
Emanuel de Witte completed the oil-on-canvas Portrait of a Family in an Interior in 1678, depicting the household of Pieter de Graeff. The painting entered the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is now displayed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The sources do not record earlier owners, any specific commission, or subsequent transfers before its arrival at the museum. The work was recently featured in the exhibition 'Master of Light'.
Overview
Portrait of a Family in an Interior is a 1690 oil painting by Emanuel de Witte, held at the Alte Pinakothek.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Emanuel de Witte (1617–1692) was a Dutch perspective painter. In contrast to Pieter Jansz Saenredam, who emphasized architectural accuracy, De Witte was more concerned with the atmosphere of his interiors. Though few in…
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