Portrait of a Family Playing Music

Description

The identity of the sitters remains unknown, although the marble floor and mantelpiece, the Transylvanian prayer rug on the table, and the silk clothes all point to the family’s considerable wealth. Furthermore, the richly carved chest at the right supports Chinese vases and Japanese lacquered boxes, a reference to the flourishing Dutch trade with Asia. Music making often took place at home, and its appearance here also signifies the harmoniousness of the family.

Provenance

James A. Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, First Baron Wharncliffe (1776-1845), 1833;; John Smith, London;; William Theobald, London, 1842 (sale: Christies’s, London, May 10, 1851, no. 76);; private collection, Yorkshire;; E. E. Cook, Bath;; [Scott & Fowles, New York], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951.

Portrait of a Family Playing Music

Pieter de Hooch

1663

Accession Number

1951.355

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

Framed: 124.5 x 142.5 x 7 cm (49 x 56 1/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 98.7 x 116.7 cm (38 7/8 x 45 15/16 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of the Hanna Fund