Artwork
Portrait of a Married Couple with Child, Members of the Beresteyn Family
Portrait of a Married Couple with Child, Members of the Beresteyn Family is an oil painting. It dates from 1655 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The work presents a three‑person family group positioned within an open landscape.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts a married couple accompanied by a child, identified as members of the Beresteyn family. Created in 1655, this oil painting on canvas functions as a formal group portrait representing the family unit. The composition focuses on the three individuals, documenting their presence and familial bond within the context of mid-17th-century Northern Low Countries portraiture.
Technique & Style
The work measures 124 cm in height by 137 cm in width, giving it a horizontal orientation suited to a group composition.
The portrait is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard combination for mid-seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture. The work measures 124 cm in height by 137 cm in width, giving it a horizontal orientation suited to a group composition. Produced in 1655 in the Northern Low Countries, the painting follows the conventional handling of the period, presenting the married couple and child in a formal group arrangement consistent with portrait traditions of the Dutch Golden Age.
The sources do not provide further detail regarding specific stylistic qualities, surface condition, or painterly technique beyond the identification of oil on canvas as the medium and support.
History & Provenance
The painting is held by the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, where it is inventoried as SK-C-1813.
It was first exhibited at the Rijksmuseum as part of its permanent display of Dutch portraits in the Gallery of Honour, where it remains accessible to the public.
Overview
The work presents a three‑person family group positioned within an open landscape. The adult male is attired in a dark hat and coat, while the female figure wears a long, dark gown accented by a white collar. A young child stands beside them, dressed in white and holding a lantern, all set against a sky mottled with clouds and distant hills.
Context
Set within the Dutch tradition of family portraiture, the piece reflects 17th‑century conventions that combined individual likenesses with a modest natural backdrop. Such works often served both commemorative and status‑affirming purposes, situating the sitters within an idealized, harmonious environment that aligns with contemporary notions of domestic virtue.
Artist & collection
