Equestrian Portrait of Cornelis (1639–1680) and Michiel Pompe van Meerdervoort (1638–1653) with Their Tutor and Coachman
ca. 1652–53
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
43 1/4 × 61 1/2 in. (109.9 × 156.2 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
Accession Number
32.100.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the heart of the Dutch Golden Age, Ael Cuyp captures the youthful vigor and social status of brothers Cornelis and Michiel van Meerdervoort this grand equestrian portrait from around 1652–53. The two boys, aged about 13 and 14, are depicted astride elegant horses, flanked by their tutor and coachman, with loyal dogs at their heels—symbols of affluence, education, and pursuits like hunting. Cuyp, a master from Dordrecht, elevates this family commission into a luminous celebration of 17th-century burgher life, where merchant prosperity rivaled nobility. Cuyp's oil on canvas, measuring over f...
About the Artist
Aelbert Cuyp · 1620–1691
Aelbert Cuyp (1620–1691), a leading figure of the Dutch Golden Age, was born and died in Dordrecht, Netherlands, where he spent his entire life. The son of portraitist and animal painter Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (1594–1652), Aelbert came from a family of artists—his uncle Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp and grandfather Gerrit Gerritsz Cuyp were stained-glass designers—and studied under his father, with whom he ...