The Family of the Artist

This attractive group portrait is a skilful depiction of the artist's close family. Jordaens portrays himself with his wife Catharina van Noort and their first child, Elizabeth, born on 26 June 1617, whose age allows us to date the work approximately. Catharina sits sturdily on an armchair; she is recognisable for her slightly almond-shaped eyes, prominent nose and fleshy, slightly drooping lower lip. Their daughter is depicted with an appealingly childlike expression. Jordaens is personified by a dashing man standing upright, with his right hand and foot leaning on another armchair, the former on the back and the latter on the lower crosspiece. His left hand holds a lute, a symbol of family harmony. The couple are elegantly dressed in black and display spectacular white ruffs. Catharina wears a small a bonnet, an elaborate jewel in her hair and earrings in her ears. Apart from their little daughter, the couple is accompanied by another woman, probably a servant, holding a basket of grapes.

The group is depicted in a garden; the setting is subordinate to the overall effect without any predominant details. It has led art historians to believe that the painting belongs to a long tradition dating back to the medieval period of including the protagonists in a typical jardin d'amour. Rubens brought this custom to culmination in works such as the Garden of Love, and the tradition attained its height of development thanks to the 18th-century lyrical taste of Watteau and his brilliant fêtes galantes.