Who painted Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children?

Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children was painted by Wallerant Vaillant in 1668.

Where can I see Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children?

Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children?

Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children?

Museum-quality prints of Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children

Wallerant Vaillant , 1668

Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children is an unspecified painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Wallerant Vaillant. It dates from 1668 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The work depicts a young mother cradling an infant swaddled in a tight blanket, while two older boys stand beside her.

About this work

Technique & Style

The work is executed in oil paint on a canvas support, measuring 60 by 77 cm.

The work is executed in oil paint on a canvas support, measuring 60 by 77 cm. As a product of the Dutch Golden Age, the painting adheres to a conventional Northern European portraiture style that reflects Flemish and Dutch artistic traditions. The composition presents a formal group portrait of a woman accompanied by three children, a subject matter consistent with Vaillant's focus on depicting members of the 17th-century elite and society. While the artist is historically celebrated for pioneering the mezzotint printmaking technique, this specific painting demonstrates his proficiency in traditional oil portraiture. The handling of the medium serves to create a realistic representation of the sitters, aligning with the period's emphasis on accurate likeness and social status.

History & Provenance

The painting *Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children* by Wallerant Vaillant is held in the permanent collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The work is an oil on canvas measuring 60 by 77 cm. While the source material confirms the painting's location and dimensions within this specific institution, it does not provide a specific inventory or accession number for the piece. Furthermore, the available records do not document any specific exhibition history for this particular portrait, though a general retrospective of Vaillant's work titled *Veelzijdig virtuoos* was held at the Museum Van Loon in Amsterdam in 2024.

Legacy

Although Wallerant Vaillant was a highly sought-after portraitist during his lifetime, he is not counted among the most famous names of his era. His enduring legacy rests primarily on his role as one of the first practitioners of mezzotint, a technique he helped introduce to the Netherlands, thereby exerting a significant influence on Dutch graphic arts. His stylistic approach to portraiture, characterized by a conventional Northern representation, subsequently influenced later artists such as Nicolas Bernard Lépicié, Guillaume Dominique Jacques Doncre, and Anne Vallayer-Coster. Recognition of his multifaceted career continued into the modern era, marked by a 2024 retrospective exhibition titled 'Veelzijdig virtuoos' held at the Museum Van Loon in Amsterdam.

Portrait of a young woman with three children, Wallerant Vaillant

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Artist & collection

Artist

Wallerant Vaillant

Wallerant Vaillant (30 May 1623 – 28 August 1677) was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and one of the first artists to use the mezzotint technique, which he probably helped to develop.