Artwork
Portrait of Antonius Anselmus, His Wife and Their Children
Portrait of Antonius Anselmus, His Wife and Their Children is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Maerten de Vos. It dates from 1589 and is held in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1589 by the Flemish artist Maerten de Vos, this oil painting presents a domestic group portrait of Antonius Anselmus, his wife Johanna Hooftman, their infant, and a young daughter. The work is part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium’s collection and exemplifies de Vos’s activity in the Spanish Netherlands during the late sixteenth century.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on the Anselmus family: the father and mother sit opposite each other at a modest table, the mother cradling a baby while a little girl stands before them holding a flower bouquet. Objects on the table—a vase, a book and a commemorative plaque—suggest scholarly or civic status, while the intimate arrangement emphasizes familial bonds and lineage.
Technique & Style
De Vos employs a restrained palette of dark garments accented with white ruffled collars, creating contrast through chiaroscuro that models the figures and gives depth to the interior space. The careful rendering of textures—fabric, skin, and the delicate flowers—demonstrates the artist’s skill in oil paint and his attention to realistic detail.
History & Provenance
After its execution, the portrait entered the holdings of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, where it remains on display. Its survival provides a rare visual record of a specific bourgeois family in Antwerp during the post‑Iconoclastic period, when Flemish portraiture was gaining prominence.
Context
Maerten de Vos was a leading painter of history and allegorical subjects in the late 1500s, rising to prominence as the influence of Frans Floris waned after the iconoclastic upheavals. This family portrait reflects the growing demand among the mercantile elite for personalized, status‑affirming images, a trend that shaped Flemish art in the Spanish Netherlands.
Artist & collection
Artist
Maerten de Vos, Maerten de Vos the Elder or Marten de Vos (1532 – 4 December 1603) was a Flemish painter, known mainly for his history and allegorical paintings and portraits.
Museum
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Continue through works from the same source collection.
