Portrait of David Leeuw (1682-1755), Mennonite Draper 1729

Jan Maurits Quinkhard’s 1729 oil painting, “Portrait of David Leeuw (1682-1755), Mennonite Draper,” depicts the sitter in a three-quarter-length pose, dressed in a brown coat with a blue sash, his left hand resting on a small box. The portrait, painted in a realistic style common to Dutch Baroque painting, likely served as a family memento for Leeuw and his descendants. The sitter’s somber expression and modest attire reflect the traditional values of the Mennonite community in the Netherlands during the 18th century.