Group portrait with allegorical overtones of the children of Diederic Pietersz van Leyden van Leeuwen (1628-1682), burgomaster of Leiden, and Alida Paets (1625-1673)

The work was commissioned by Rijksbaron Diederic van Leyden van Leeuwen and painted in 1679 by Daniel Mijtens the Younger. It entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum and Duivenvoorde Castle shortly after its creation. Subsequent ownership passed through the Schimmelpenninck family, beginning with Alexander Schimmelpenninck van der Oye and his descendants, before returning to the direct lineage of the commissioner. The painting is documented at Rijksmuseum and Duivenvoorde Castle, where it remains today.

The painting is held by the Rijksmuseum, with a secondary association noted with Duivenvoorde Castle. The work was commissioned by Rijksbaron Diederic van Leyden van Leeuwen and has passed through the ownership of the Schimmelpenninck van der Oye family, including Alexander, Willem Anne Assuerus Jacob, and Frans Arnold Leo Carel baron Schimmelpenninck van der Oye. Specific inventory or accession numbers are not provided in the available records. No exhibition history is documented in the current sources.

The painting's legacy is anchored in its representation of a prominent Leiden patrician family and its transmission through private ownership before entering the Rijksmuseum collection. Descendants of Diederic Pietersz van Leyden van Leeuwen retained possession across generations, including through the Schimmelpenninck van der Oye line, reflecting the work's continuity within elite Dutch circles. Its attribution to Daniel Mijtens the Younger and stylistic classification as a family portrait cemented its significance within 17th-century Dutch portraiture, influencing later interpretations of group portraiture with allegorical elements in Dutch art history.

The work's inclusion in the Rijksmuseum's holdings has ensured its preservation and scholarly attention as a key example of Dutch Golden Age portraiture.

Daniël Mijtens the Younger’s 1690 oil painting presents the children of Diederic Pietersz van Leyden van Leeuwen, the burgomaster of Leiden, and his wife Alida Paets. The composition gathers seven figures, five adults and two youngsters, in a garden setting, their attire richly colored and adorned with accessories. The work belongs to the Dutch Golden Age tradition of group portraiture and is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.

The painting reflects the broader Dutch practice of commemorating civic leaders and their families through elaborate group portraits. Such works often combined realistic likenesses with symbolic elements, reinforcing the patron’s social standing and moral virtues within a cultivated, almost theatrical, environment.