''Portrait of Abraham Casteleyn and his Wife, Margaretha van Bancken'' (1663) is an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

on canvas painting by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

painter

Jan de Bray Jan de Bray (c. 1627 – April 4, 1697) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem until the age of 60, when he went bankrupt and moved to Amsterdam. Jan de Bray was influenced by his father Salomon de Bray, and the por ...

; it is an example of

Dutch Golden Age painting Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

and is now in the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the ...

. This painting by De Bray was acquired in 1939 from the Frans Ernst Blaauw bequest. It had been in the family since 1834 and because of the globe on the left it was assumed to be a double portrait of

Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. Life In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they published ...

(1596-1673) and his wife Geertruid Vermeulen (died 1676).Het portret van Abraham Casteleyn en zijn vrouw
by Rudi Ekkart in the DBNL The next year it was determined the couple was clearly too old at the time to be the youthful newlyweds portrayed in the painting, and it was speculated that they were therefore the son of Blaeu, Willem Blaeu II (1635-1685) and his wife Anna van Loon (1638-1680), though their ages didn't match either. Since the bust of

Laurens Janszoon Coster Laurens Janszoon Coster (c. 1370, Haarlem – c. 1440), or Laurens Jansz Koster, is the purported inventor of a printing press from Haarlem. He allegedly invented printing simultaneously with Johannes Gutenberg and was regarded by some in t ...

features quite prominently above their portraits and De Bray himself was a Haarlem painter whose brother

Dirck Dirck is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Dirck Barendsz (1534–1592), Dutch Renaissance painter from Amsterdam * Dirck Bleker (1621–1702), Dutch Golden Age painter *Dirck Coornhert (1522–1590), Dutch writer, philosopher ...

made engravings for the Casteleyn printing firm until he left town in 1678, it was finally correctly catalogued upon the discovery of a drawn self-portrait by Casteleyn in the North Holland Archives. The couple Abraham Casteleyn and

Margaretha van Bancken Margaretha van Bancken (Amsterdam 1628 - Haarlem 1694) was a Dutch publisher from Haarlem. Biography She was the daughter of Dirck van Bancken and Anna Noppen.Grote Markt, Haarlem The Grote Markt is the central market square of Haarlem, Netherlands. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica''; Buildings of interest * Frans Hals Museum - Hal * Grote Kerk, Haarlem *Haarlem City Hall *Statue of Johann Costerus *Arc ...

. File:Jan de Bray - Haarlem Printer Abraham Casteleyn and His Wife Margarieta van Bancken - WGA03118.jpg, Drawing plan for this painting in the

Fondation Custodia The Fondation Custodia is an art collection in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, focusing on European Old Master works, including works by Dutch, Flemish, Italian and French artists. It was founded in 1947 by the collector and art historian Frits ...

File:Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde - Haarlem City hall with figures on the Grote markt - 1671 FHM OS-I-10.JPG, View of the Haarlem city hall and on the left is their house "In de Blije Druk" (closest house on the left with signboard), by

Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde Gerrit Adriaenszoon Berckheyde (1638 – 10 June 1698) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, active in Haarlem, Amsterdam, and The Hague, who is best known today for his cityscapes. Biography Berckheyde was born and died in Haarlem. Christ ...

, 1671

References

Double portrait of Abraham Casteleyn (?-1681) and Margaretha van Bancken (?-1693)
in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

1663 paintings Paintings by Jan de Bray Paintings in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Books in art {{17C-painting-stub