Portrait of a Man, Probably from the Pauw Family

This is an archetypal image of an affluent Dutch citizen at the beginning of the 17th century: confident – even a touch pompous – and fashionably dressed, but without undue excess. Although the sitter’s identity is unknown, he was probably a member of the fabulously wealthy Pauw family of Amsterdam merchants. The picture is still in its original black painted and parcel-gilt oak frame.