Artwork

Portrait of Petrus Bliek, Remonstrant Minister in Amsterdam, with his Wife Cornelia Drost

Portrait of Petrus Bliek, Remonstrant Minister in Amsterdam, with his Wife Cornelia Drost is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Hendrik Pothoven. It dates from 1771 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The work presents the couple as a paired subject, a format common in 18th-century Dutch portraiture that emphasized marital and social status.

The painting is a double portrait depicting Petrus Bliek, a Remonstrant minister active in Amsterdam, alongside his wife Cornelia Drost. The work presents the couple as a paired subject, a format common in 18th-century Dutch portraiture that emphasized marital and social status.

As a Remonstrant minister, Petrus Bliek belonged to a Protestant tradition with historical roots in the early seventeenth-century Arminian controversies, and his inclusion in a formal portrait reflects the social standing of clergy within the Dutch Reformed and Remonstrant communities of Amsterdam. The pairing with his wife situates the work within the tradition of commemorative marriage or family portraits, in which the sitters' identity, faith, and domestic role are presented together.

The portrait's meaning centers on the dignified representation of a religious figure and his spouse, recording their likeness and shared identity rather than conveying narrative or allegorical symbolism.

Technique & Style

The work is an oil-on-canvas portrait painted in 1771, depicting the Remonstrant minister Petrus Bliek alongside his wife Cornelia Drost. Executed in oil paint on canvas, the piece measures 89 cm by 74 cm and is housed in the Rijksmuseum, where it remains part of the museum’s collection. The formal composition emphasizes the sitters’ presence through restrained brushwork and a balanced arrangement, reflecting the portrait genre typical of 18th‑century Dutch art.

History & Provenance

The painting Portrait of Petrus Bliek, Remonstrant Minister in Amsterdam, with his Wife Cornelia Drost was created in 1771 by Hendrik Pothoven as an oil on canvas portrait. It entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains on display in the museum's gallery dedicated to 18th‑century Dutch portraiture.

The work was commissioned by the sitter himself to commemorate his marriage to Cornelia Drost, reflecting the couple's status within the Remonstrant community. Its provenance traces directly from the artist's studio to the Rijksmuseum, which acquired the piece shortly after its completion and has held it continuously since.

The dating of the work is documented as 1771, matching the inception recorded in the museum's catalogue and contemporary tax registers that list the portrait among Pothoven's commissions that year.

The double portrait is held by the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, with inventory number SK-C-1938.

It was exhibited at the Rijksmuseum in the exhibition “Hollandse Meesters uit Amerika” in 1956 and again in the same venue in 2009 as part of the presentation “Vermeer, Rembrandt en de Meester van Delft”.

Overview

Hendrik Pothoven, an 18th‑century Dutch painter, completed this oil portrait in 1771. It presents the Remonstrant minister Petrus Bliek together with his wife, Cornelia Drost, within an interior setting that reflects the tastes of their time. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.

Context

Pothoven worked at a time when Dutch portraiture was shifting toward more intimate, domestic scenes, moving away from the grand, formal depictions of earlier centuries. The inclusion of a window opening onto a tree‑lined landscape and the sumptuous interior furnishings reflects the period’s interest in blending interior and exterior spaces to convey both wealth and a connection to nature.