oil-paint
portrait
baroque
oil-paint
figuration
oil painting
Dimensions height 156.5 cm, width 121.5 cm
Jan de Baen painted "Johanna le Gillon, Wife of Hieronymus van Beverningk" with oil on canvas, immortalizing a member of the Dutch elite. In the Dutch Golden Age, portraiture served as a powerful tool for social representation. This image creates meaning through visual codes of wealth and status such as Johanna's elegant dress, jewelry, and the lute. The family's affluence reflects the thriving economy of the Dutch Republic in the 17th century, fueled by global trade. But institutions like the Dutch East India Company also relied on exploitative labor practices to generate that wealth. The painting itself is an institutional object, commissioned to celebrate and perpetuate the family's social standing. To fully understand this work, we can consult historical records, family archives, and economic data to reveal the complex interplay of art, wealth, and social power in the Dutch Golden Age.
Comments
The portraits of Johanna le Gillon and her husband are still in their original frames. These are carved in limewood, with gilt high relief, and entirely symmetrical to each other. In the corners are pairs of putti gathering roses. The stiles and rails are ornamented with vines, festoons and scrolls of oak, laurel and acanthus.The motto in the cartouche at bottom translates as: ‘A contented heart is a great good.’
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