Dutch school, second third of the 17th century. Circle of LUDOLF DE JONGH (Rotterdam, 1616-1679). "Family Portrait. Oil on canvas. Re-coloured. With restorations. Provenance: Christie s of Amsterdam. Measurements: 40 x 45,5 cm; 57,5 x 62 cm (frame). A family of the high Dutch bourgeoisie has been portrayed in the inner courtyard of their luxurious mansion. The figures are placed in a large space, with a clear, linear perspective with the checkerboard floor and the flowerbed behind. The Italian Renaissance perspective is combined with a typically Dutch attention to detail in the clothing, as is the meticulous depiction of the domestic aspects. Within the Dutch tradition, he belongs to the circle of Ludolf de Jongh. The female model, with her delicate features, her hair tied back and bejewelled, and her fine batiste and severe black clothing, is very similar to that which De Jongh developed in choral and individual portraits, such as the one in the Museo Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid. De Jongh s manner of resolving space in depth is also frequent in his paintings, as is his miniaturist s precision. Ludolf de Jongh was a Dutch Baroque painter of portraits, genre scenes and urban landscapes. A pupil of Cornelis Saftleven, he continued his studies in Delft with Anthonie Palamedesz and in Utrecht with Jan van Bijlert. Between 1635 and 1642 he lived in Paris. In 1643 he returned to Rotterdam, where his pupils were Pieter de Hooch and Jacob Ochtervelt. His genre paintings reveal the influence of the Utrecht Caravaggists, although he evolved towards the creation of more clearly defined and illuminated spaces. Similarly, his portraits of ladies, elegantly dressed in black and with lace collars, follow the sober tradition of Dutch portraiture in accordance with what he learned from Palamedsz, although with a more fluid brushstroke technique that allowed him to pay greater attention to the psychology of the sitters without sacrificing the minuteness of the drapery through appropriate drawing.