A portrait can be more than just the likeness of a person. In the 17th century, portraits were meant to convey a sitter’s status and wealth, values and attitudes, as well as taste and character.
Could this young girl of four already be engaged? Her ring, the little statue (symbol of fertility), the carnations, the fan and the peacock (symbol of Juno, goddess of child- birth) all refer to love and marriage.
In the 17th century the Netherlands profited from global trade. For the first time, an urban middle class dominated the country ’s economy and culture. Rich merchants acquired paintings of themselves, their families, their homes, their cities and their land to celebrate this new- found wealth and power.
