Family Portrait | MSK Gent
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Family Portrait, ca. 1630 - ca. 1635

  • oil paint, canvas
  • 143.5 x 204.5 cm
  • Inv. 1958-I

Public Domain

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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.

Artist

Cornelis de Vos RKD Wikidata
Hulst 1584 - 1585 - Antwerp 1651
painters (artists)AAT

Title Family Portrait
Date ca. 1630 - ca. 1635
Period 17th century
Collection paintings AAT
Object type oil paintings (visual works) AAT
Inventory number 1958-I
Acquisition credit gift
The Friends of the Museum
Ghent
1958
Current whereabouts Work on display
Permalink https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1958-I
IIIF Manifest https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/2571/manifest.json
Art & Architecture Thesaurus 300015637 portraits AAT
300189808 figures (representations) AAT
Keywords Iconclass 11D1 symbols and prefigurations of Christ Iconclass
11D12 the cross ~ symbols of Christ Iconclass
11D42 devotion ~ Christ Iconclass
31A25 postures and gestures of arms and hands Iconclass
31A252 postures and gestures of arms and hands in relation to each other Iconclass
31A2551 postures and gestures of the hand Iconclass
31A71 male sex; man Iconclass
31A72 female sex; woman Iconclass
31D112 child Iconclass
31D1121 tot, toddler ~ the ages of man Iconclass
31D11221 boy (child between toddler and youth) Iconclass
31D11222 girl (child between toddler and youth) Iconclass
31D120 Youth, Adolescence, 'Iuventus'; 'Adolescenza', 'Gioventu' (Ripa) Iconclass
31D130 Maidenhood Iconclass
31D14 adult man Iconclass
31D15 adult woman Iconclass
41A721 chairs (furniture forms) Iconclass
41A722 couch, sofa, settee Iconclass
41C653 fruit Iconclass
41C653(APPLE) fruit (APPLE) Iconclass
41D1 fashion Iconclass
41D2 clothes, costume Iconclass
41D211 dress, gown Iconclass
41D212 coat, cape Iconclass
41D221(FALL HAT) head-gear (FALL HAT) Iconclass
41D222(COLLAR) neck-gear: collar Iconclass
41D225 gloves, mittens, etc. Iconclass
41D24 clothes for special purposes Iconclass
41D26 accessories (~ clothing) Iconclass
41D266 ornaments, jewels Iconclass
41D2661 necklace Iconclass
41D26611 pearl; pearl necklace Iconclass
41D26612 pendant, trinket, 'breloque' Iconclass
41D2662 bracelet, wristlet Iconclass
41D2663 ear-rings Iconclass
41D2664 ring Iconclass
41D2666 diadem, tiara Iconclass
42B74 family group, especially parents with their child(ren) Iconclass
42G2111 father (first degree family relationships) Iconclass
42G2112 mother (first degree family relationships) Iconclass
42G2121 son (first degree family relationships) Iconclass
42G2122 daughter (first degree family relationships) Iconclass
42G2221 brothers (second degree family relationships) Iconclass
42G2222 sisters (second degree family relationships) Iconclass
46A131 bourgeoisie, middle class, citizens, burghers Iconclass
46A16 the rich Iconclass
48C16 architectural detail Iconclass
48C161 column, pillar ~ architecture Iconclass
61B2 historical persons Iconclass
61BB113 anonymous historical persons portrayed in a group, in a group-portrait - BB - woman Iconclass
61BB2 historical persons - BB - woman Iconclass
School / Style Baroque AAT
Martin De Vos, Pieter De Vos, Cornelis De Vos (Fonds Richard de Moor). - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.]
Art in America : Notes on some pictures in American private collections / W. Martin. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] (XIV, p. 51-60)
De portretten van Cornelis de Vos (1584- '5 - 1651): een kritische catalogus / Katlijne Van der Stighelen. - Brussel : Paleis der Academiën, 1990 (p. 180-183)
'Familieportret van Cornelis de Vos als nieuw', in: Museumkrant. De Vrienden / Katlijne Van der Stighelen. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.]
'Cornelis de Vos, Familieportret', in: Bulletin Koninklijk Instituut voor het / R. Guislain-Wittermann. - Brussel : [s.n.] : [s.a.] (p. 252-253)
200 jaar verzamelen : Collectieboek Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent / Arnout Balis, Robert Hoozee, Maximiliaan P.J. Martens, Paul Van Haute. - Gent : Ludion, 2000 (p. 273 (ill. 42))
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : Catalogus schilderkunst ; Deel I: 14de - 18de eeuw ; Deel II: 19de - 20ste eeuw / Robert Hoozee, Johan De Smet, Bruno Fornari, Ruth Monteyne. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2007 (dl. I, p. 32 (ill.), 162-163 (ill.))
Het Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : een keuze uit de mooiste werken / Patrick De Rynck. - Gent : Ludion, 2007 (p. 39 (ill.))
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : De collectie (tentoonstelling vanaf 21 maart 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2021
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand : La Collection (exposition dès le 21 mars 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gand : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand, 2021
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