Portrait of Cornelis ten Hove (1658-1694)

To celebrate their marriage, Cornelis ten Hove and Catharina Dierquens had their portraits painted by Nicolaes Maes. Catharina’s portrait hangs to the right. Maes portrayed Cornelis posing elegantly in a park-like landscape. He paid particular attention to the magnificent blue robe.

Maes was one of the most sought-after portrait painters of the 17th century. While his early portraits were traditional in style, from 1670 they became increasingly refined and colourful. Maes’s fashionable portraits found favour among the 17th-century elite.