Artwork

Portrait of Gillis Hooftman (1521-81). Shipowner, and his wife Margaretha van Nispen (b 1545)

Portrait of Gillis Hooftman (1521-81). Shipowner, and his wife Margaretha van Nispen (b 1545) is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Maarten de Vos. It dates from 1570 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created in 1570, this oil painting by the Flemish artist Maerten de Vos presents a married couple from Antwerp’s mercantile elite.

About this work

The woman has light skin, a white cap, and a dark dress with red sleeves and a gold chain.

This painting shows a man and woman standing side by side. The man has a long red beard and wears a black outfit with green sleeves. The woman has light skin, a white cap, and a dark dress with red sleeves and a gold chain. Both look straight ahead, their hands resting near their sides.

The woman’s gold chain is a small but rich detail, hinting at wealth. The painting was made in 1570 by Maerten de Vos.

Look up Maerten de Vos next to see more of his work.

Subject & Meaning

The painting is a double portrait depicting the Antwerp shipowner Gillis Hooftman, who lived from 1521 to 1581, alongside his wife Margaretha van Nispen, born in 1545. As a paired likeness of husband and wife, the work functions as a statement of marital partnership and dynastic identity, a common convention in Netherlandish portraiture of the period. The choice to be commemorated together reflects Hooftman's status as a leading merchant and his wife's role in establishing a prominent family lineage.

By presenting the couple as co-equal subjects, the portrait represents their shared social standing and the public face of their household, aligning the sitters with the conventions of elite merchant portraiture in the Spanish Netherlands during the 1570s.

Technique & Style

Executed in 1570 by Maarten de Vos, this double portrait is rendered in oil paint on a wooden panel support. The work measures 116 cm in height and 140.5 cm in width, presenting a substantial horizontal format typical of formal couple portraits from the period. As a painting classified within the portrait genre, the piece utilizes the rich textural possibilities of oil media to depict the sitters, Gillis Hooftman and Margaretha van Nispen.

The combination of oil and panel was a standard technical approach for Netherlandish art of the late sixteenth century, allowing for detailed surface handling. No specific information regarding the current physical condition or conservation history of the panel is provided in the available records.

History & Provenance

The double portrait of Gillis Hooftman and Margaretha van Nispen is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created in 1570 by Maarten de Vos, the oil painting on panel measures 116 cm in height and 140.5 cm in width. The provided sources confirm the work's location and physical attributes but do not contain specific inventory or accession numbers, nor do they list any exhibitions in which the piece has been displayed.

Overview

Created in 1570, this oil painting by the Flemish artist Maerten de Vos presents a married couple from Antwerp’s mercantile elite. The work shows Gillis Hooftman, a prominent shipowner, standing beside his wife Margaretha van Nispen, both gazing directly at the viewer. Their attire and accessories convey their social standing within the bustling trade network of the late sixteenth‑century Low Countries.