Artwork
Sara de Bie. Jan Lutma's second wife (1638)
Sara de Bie. Jan Lutma's second wife (1638) is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jacob Adriaensz Backer. It dates from 1645 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. This oil portrait from 1645 depicts Sara de Bie, the second wife of Amsterdam silversmith Jan Lutma.
About this work
Overview
This oil portrait from 1645 depicts Sara de Bie, the second wife of Amsterdam silversmith Jan Lutma. Created by Jacob Adriaensz Backer during the Dutch Golden Age, the painting now resides in the Rijksmuseum collection. Backer was active in Amsterdam during the mid-17th century and worked across multiple genres including portraiture, religious scenes, and mythological subjects.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter appears seated in a chair, her body oriented toward the viewer. She wears dark clothing with a white collar and head covering, typical of modest Dutch bourgeois dress. Her hands are clasped together at her waist, and a ring adorns her left hand, likely signifying her married status. The restrained palette and composed posture suggest a woman of respectable social standing.
Technique & Style
Backer employs chiaroscuro to model the figure, with concentrated light illuminating the face and hands against a muted, dark background.
Backer employs chiaroscuro to model the figure, with concentrated light illuminating the face and hands against a muted, dark background. This dramatic contrast creates spatial depth and lends psychological weight to the sitter's presence. The technique reveals Backer's engagement with influences from Wybrand de Geest, Peter Paul Rubens, and Abraham Bloemaert, whose approaches to form and light inform his handling of paint.
History & Provenance
The painting entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it is preserved today. Its creation in 1645 places it within the mature phase of Backer's career, which was cut short by his early death around 1651. The portrait represents one of several works Backer produced of Amsterdam's prosperous merchant and artisan families.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacob Adriaensz Backer (1608 – 27 August 1651) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He produced about 140 paintings in twenty years, including portraits, religious subjects, and mythological paintings. In his style, he was…
Old Woman in an Armchair
Portrait of an Old Woman
The regents of the Nieuwe Zijds institute for the outdoor relief of the poor, Amsterdam, ca 1650
Officers and other Civic Guardsmen of the V District in Amsterdam under the command of Captain Cornelis de Graeff and Lieutenant Hendrick Lauwrensz
The Garden of Eden
The superintendents of the Collegium Medicum in Amsterdam
Portrait of a man in armor (self-portrait)
Portrait of Daniel Nellius, elder of the Remonstrant church and sampling official of Alkmaar
