Portrait of a Young Woman with Three Children
c. 1668 - c. 1670
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
76.3; 62; 8
About this artwork
Portret van een jonge vrouw met drie kinderen. Rechts staan twee jongens, de vrouw houdt een ingebakerd kind in de rechterarm.
Art Historical Context
This intimate family portrait by Wallerant Vaillant captures a young mother gently holding a swaddled infant in her right arm, while two young boys stand attentively at her side. Painted in oil on canvas around 1668–1670, the modest yet elegant composition measures just 62 by 763 centimeters, inviting close viewing that highlights the quiet bonds of 17th-century Dutch domestic life. Vaillant, active during the Dutch Golden Age, specialized in sensitive portraits that blended Flemish precision with the emerging naturalism of the Northern Netherlands. Here, the careful arrangement of figures an...
About the Artist
Wallerant Vaillant · 1623–1677
Wallerant Vaillant (1623-1677) was a French-born Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker who pioneered the mezzotint technique in printmaking. Born in Lille on May 30, 1623, he died in Amsterdam on August 28, 1677, leaving behind a significant legacy as both a portraitist and innovator in graphic arts. Vaillant holds a distinguished place in art history as one of the first professional artists to...