The Haarlem textile merchant Eduard Wallis presents himself with one arm akimbo, a fashionable pose that was the epitome of self-assurance. Here he wears his own merchandise, very costly black-dyed cloth, the high-quality woollen fabric of the time. Wallis was married to Maria van Strijp, who also hailed from a well-to-do textile family. With their union, they consolidated their standing in the Haarlem cloth trade.