Family Portrait

Cornelis de Vos, a younger contemporary and friend of Rubens, enjoyed showing off his skills in different genres. His talent however is mainly revealed in the citizens’ portraits, which he painted between 1620 and 1640. This family portrait shows that he is a master when it comes to the composition of group portraits and the portrayal of children. He is…

Cornelis de Vos, a younger contemporary and friend of Rubens, enjoyed showing off his skills in different genres. His talent however is mainly revealed in the citizens’ portraits, which he painted between 1620 and 1640. This family portrait shows that he is a master when it comes to the composition of group portraits and the portrayal of children. He is one of the first artists who chooses not to portray children, in spite of their pose and elaborate festive clothes, as small adults but instead emphasizes the spontaneity and openness that comes with their young age. The composition of this Family Portrait is clear and transparent, and reveals considerable craftsmanship in the representation of the fabrics and a remarkably natural style in the eyes and gestures of the people portrayed. De Vos does not indulge in a character study; he always remains a cool and objective onlooker. The family portrait also has a moralizing significance. The red apple refers to fertility and the seventeenth-century bourgeois marriage ethic that was aimed at reproduction.