Baroque Family Portraits of Holland in the 17th Century

Baroque Family Portraits of Holland in the 17th Century

After the Renaissance, artists in Europe sought to do something new. This led to the emergence of the Baroque style, which took the form of genre painting in 17th century Holland. This style of painting and etching centered around portraying everyday narratives, often set in domestic spaces, and brought typical families to center stage. Families were captured in their own homes, often with particular objects that symbolized their values and communicated Christian piety. Much of Holland had recently converted to Protestantism, so portraying piety in an everyday setting reflected this theological as well as cultural shift. Additionally, artists sought to put forth an ideal Dutch family, emphasizing their wealth and content lifestyle. Artists like Frans Hals and Quirijn van Brekelenkam primarily emphasized a family’s piety and wealth. Jan Miense Molenaer emphasized familial unity, and wealth. Some artists like Adriaen van Ostade sought to portray more grim realities of the day, showing poorer families but still emphasizing Dutch industry.

Within this broader Baroque movement, there emerged a smaller set of artists who chose to take the contemporary style of family portraiture and instead turn it into comic storytelling. One such artist was Jan Steen, who had a habit of painting himself into these family portraits. This allowed him to make a scene more accessible and thus comical, mocking the seriousness of the pious narrative of his day. While his paintings of families still took place in domestic settings, his aim was entirely different. His self-inclusion gave his audience permission to laugh at his own family and the story he tells.

Frans Hals, Portrait of a Dutch Family, Mid 1630s, oil on canvas

In the Cincinnati Art Museum

In Portrait of a Dutch Family, a father stands next to his wife with their two daughters. They wear subdued colors, but are dressed lavishly, indicating the family’s wealth. One of the daughters holds a fruit in one hand, and affectionately grasps her sister in the other. The father’s gaze creates an implied line overtop his familys’ heads, communicating his protection. This portrayal emphasizes the care between familial relations, as each member smiles contentedly with roses cast at their feet, symbolizing the trials and joys of love. Frans Hals’ portrait posits a view of the Dutch family that is centered around love and enjoys a life of ease, with material comforts and contentedness in life.

Adriaen van Ostade, The Family, 1647, etching

In The Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University

Adriaen van Ostade was a student of Frans Hals, and the influence of his teacher is apparent in his subject matter. However, The Family is an etching of a much poorer family than those Hals tended to portray. The composition of this piece feels a bit scattered and unstable, as various household items are strewn around the small home. Van Ostade’s approach to genre painting was one that took into account some of the more grim and ordinary realities of family life, especially when finances are tight. However, his narration of the Dutch family still puts forth a positive image of industry.

Quirijn van Brekelenkam, Family Group in an Interior (Main View), 1658-1660, oil on canvas

In The Getty Center, Museum South Pavilion, Gallery S106

Van Brekelenkam’s Family Group in an Interior (Main View) shows a family politely finishing off a meal. Their wealth is apparent in their artwork and the figure of a servant in a distant room. The mother of the family hands a prayer book to one of the sons, and the daughter holds a fan and her cap. These details symbolize the family’s piety and communicate a moralizing message to the viewer. Like other painters at the time, Van Brekelenkam combines genre painting with family portrait as he represents the Dutch family as well-off and committed to good morals.

Jan Miense Molenaer, Self-Portrait with Family Members, 1635, oil on panel

At the Frans Hals Museum, in Haarlem, Netherlands

Molenaer’s Self-Portrait with Family Members continues the theme of familial affection and unity. The eight figures in the foreground are a collection of siblings and half-siblings, and each hold some kind of instrument. This points to a literal and metaphorical harmony within the family. The setting speaks to a generational unity as portraits of parents and ancestors surround them. The tallest standing figure in the foreground gestures to himself, identifying him as the artist. Molenaer places a self-portrait prominently in this composition, identifying this harmonic family as his own. This self-inclusion gives the viewer personal insight into the Molenaer family, combining the genres of self-portrait, genre painting, and family portrait. His depiction of the Dutch family displays familial unity and wealth.

Jan Steen, The Dissolute Household, c. 1663-1664, oil on canvas

On view at the Met Fifth Avenue, Gallery 964

Like his contemporaries, Jan Steen combined genre painting and family portrait. However, his Dissolute Household is strikingly unlike the moralistic and idealized families of his fellow artists. The whole composition gives the viewer a sense of instability and unease, as the family portrait is scattered with objects broken and strewn about in disarray. The central father figure holds the hand of a maid while his wife enjoys a bit too much wine. One of their sons talks to a strange man in the window and the other mischievously tickles a nurse’s nose. Above the family is a basket with symbols of foreboding, pointing to an impoverished fate awaiting the family. Rather than enforcing a moralizing and serious tone, Jan Steen playfully painted himself into this portrait and used his family members as models, allowing his own family to be the subject of comic relief.