Portrait of the Family Twent in An Interior 1633

Pieter Codde painted this group portrait of the Twent family in an interior, but we're unsure exactly when. It is a wonderful glimpse into the world of a wealthy family of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of immense economic and cultural growth for the Netherlands. The family's prosperity is on full display, evident in their fine clothes and the opulent interior. The women wear elaborate lace collars and the man in black is the very picture of bourgeois respectability. Music seems to have been an important part of their lives, as suggested by the figures gathered around a musical score. But it's not just a snapshot of a particular family. It's also a statement about social status and cultural values. The social conditions that shaped the art of the time, from the rise of a wealthy merchant class to the growth of secular values, are all reflected here. Careful archival research into Dutch family and cultural history would help to reveal more. The interpretation of art is always contingent on social and institutional context.