Allegorical Portrait of a Commander and His Wife
17th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash
Dimensions
sheet: 5 1/16 x 7 5/8 in. (12.8 x 19.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2003
Accession Number
2003.88
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the heart of the Dutch Golden Age, Pieter Jans.'s *Allegorical Portrait of a and His Wife* (17th century) captures the era's fascination with symbolic portraiture. This intimate drawing, executed in pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash on modest 5 1/16 x 7 5/8-inch sheet, likely served as a preparatory study or standalone work, showcasing the artist's skill in economical yet evocative techniques. The monochromatic palette emphasizes line work and subtle tonal modeling, allowing intricate details to emerge without the opulence of full-color oils. The title hints at allegory, where the...
About the Artist
Pieter Jansz. · 1602–1672
Pieter Jansz (1602–1672) was a Dutch glass painter and draughtsman working in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age, a period when the art of painted glass windows experienced a distinctive flowering in the Protestant Netherlands. While the Reformation had largely ended the tradition of elaborate stained glass religious imagery in Dutch churches, secular painted glass continued to thrive, particul...