Portrait of Catharina Dierquens (1664-1715)

These two portraits belong together. This is Catharina Dierquins, the bride, aged around eighteen years old. Hanging to the left is the 24-year-old bridegroom, Cornelis ten Hove. Catharina wears a dress with many draperies and striking colours: red and yellow ochre. The colour red is characteristic of Nicolaes Maes and frequently appears in his paintings.

Maes painted his clients in pseudo-antique fancy dress. But their hair is styled according to the latest fashions. This is how the elite liked to see themselves portrayed.