Artwork
Portrait of a seated woman and two children
Portrait of a seated woman and two children is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Thomas de Keyser. It dates from 1635 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The artwork is a group portrait depicting a seated woman alongside two children. As a work within the portrait genre, the painting represents the sitters' familial relationships and social status, capturing the maternal bond and the presence of the youth within a domestic or familial context.
Technique & Style
The handling reflects de Keyser's refined, smooth brushwork and restrained palette, suited to the dignified characterization of his sitters.
The work is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, a support typical of Thomas de Keyser's small-scale portraits of the 1630s. Its modest dimensions, 66.7 cm in height by 50.8 cm in width, are consistent with the intimate, cabinet-picture format the artist favored for commissioned family groups.
Stylistically, the painting belongs to the Dutch group-portrait tradition, organizing the seated woman and her two children into a unified composition rather than separate likenesses. The handling reflects de Keyser's refined, smooth brushwork and restrained palette, suited to the dignified characterization of his sitters.
History & Provenance
Thomas de Keyser executed this group portrait in 1635, creating an oil painting on panel that depicts a seated woman accompanied by two children. The work's documented ownership history includes the art dealer P. de Boer, who handled the piece before its acquisition by major Dutch institutions. It subsequently entered the collections of both the Centraal Museum and the Rijksmuseum, where it is currently held. The painting measures 66.7 cm in height and 50.8 cm in width.
Portrait of a seated woman and two children is an oil on panel painting created in 1635 by Thomas de Keyser. It measures 66.7 cm in height and 50.8 cm in width and is part of the collection at the Rijksmuseum. The work has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum as part of its permanent display of Dutch Golden Age paintings.
Overview
Created in 1635 by Thomas de Keyser, this oil painting presents a domestic scene typical of the Dutch Golden Age. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and illustrates the artist’s skill in rendering figures with subtle realism. It captures a quiet moment within an interior, focusing on a seated woman accompanied by two children.
Artist & collection
Artist
Thomas de Keyser (c. 1596 – 1667) was a Dutch portrait painter and a dealer in Belgium bluestone and stone mason. He was the most in-demand portrait painter in the Netherlands until the 1630s, when Rembrandt eclipsed…
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