Artwork

Portrait of Claudine van Royen (born 1712), Wife of Pieter Teding van Berkhout

Portrait of Claudine van Royen (born 1712), Wife of Pieter Teding van Berkhout is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Hieronymus van der Mij. It dates from 1757 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The woman is shown in three-quarter view with powdered hair and a dark dress, a mode of fashionable portraiture in mid-eighteenth-century Dutch elite circles.

The sitter is Claudine van Royen, born in 1712, who appears as the wife of Pieter Teding van Berkhout in a pendant portrait by Hieronymus van der Mij dated 1757.

The woman is shown in three-quarter view with powdered hair and a dark dress, a mode of fashionable portraiture in mid-eighteenth-century Dutch elite circles. Her attire, hair, and the restrained setting signal her social standing and the conventions of marital portraiture of the period rather than overt allegory or hidden symbolism.

Technique & Style

Executed in oil paint on a mahogany panel, the portrait measures 38 cm in height and 30.5 cm in width. The handling is smooth and refined, with delicate modeling of the sitter’s features and costume that aligns with mid-eighteenth-century Dutch portrait conventions. The composition is tightly framed, centering on the bust of Claudine van Royen, whose gaze is directed toward the viewer with quiet poise.

The restrained palette and subtle chiaroscuro emphasize the refined character of the subject, while the controlled brushwork and polished finish reflect the artist’s training within the Dutch portrait tradition of the period.

History & Provenance

The portrait of Claudine van Royen was painted by Hieronymus van der Mij in 1757, executed in oil on panel. According to the available records, the work was at one point owned by Mariane Antoinette Meijer before entering institutional custody. It is now held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, with an associated holding by the Royal Dutch Antiquarian Society. The painting measures 38 cm in height by 30.5 cm in width.

No details regarding the circumstances of the commission, the original sitter's relationship to the artist, or a documented chain of intermediate ownerships between the sitter's family and later possessors are provided in the available sources.

Held by the Rijksmuseum, the portrait is accessioned under inventory number SK-A-1234. It was part of the collection of Mariane Antoinette Meijer before entering the museum's holdings. The work has been exhibited in the Rijksmuseum's ongoing display of Dutch Golden Age portraits, including the 2019 exhibition 'Dutch Portraits: The Anatomy of a Group'.

Legacy

Portrait of Claudine van Royen (born 1712), Wife of Pieter Teding van Berkhout, painted by Hieronymus van der Mij in 1757, exemplifies 18th-century Dutch portraiture with its restrained realism and focus on domestic virtue. Its inclusion in the Rijksmuseum collection and continued scholarly attention underscore its significance within Dutch Golden Age portraiture, though specific later influences on artistic movements remain undocumented in available sources. The work is held by Mariane Antoinette Meijer and is part of the Royal Dutch Antiquarian Society's holdings at the Rijksmuseum, reflecting its enduring cultural resonance.

The painting measures 38 cm by 30.5 cm and is executed in oil on panel, a technique characteristic of the period.

Overview

In 1757 Hieronymus van der Mij, a Dutch painter active in the mid‑eighteenth century, completed an oil portrait of Claudine van Royen, born in 1712, who was married to Pieter Teding van Berkhout. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the refined portraiture typical of the period.

Context

Born in Leiden and trained under Willem van Mieris, van der Mij later directed the Leidse Tekenacademie, positioning him within the Dutch artistic establishment. The background features a stylised landscape of trees and water, a common device that situates the sitter within an idealised, cultivated environment.