How does this artwork elucidate its Depicted space, people and artworks?
The two rooms depicted in this painting still exist: the large room in front and the smaller one with windows in the back are part of the house that was owned by Jan Jansz. Gildemeester since 1792, currently a Rijksmonument located on Herengracht 475 in Amsterdam. The ceiling painting in the first room (by Jacob de Wit, 1731) the relief above the door and other decorations have been restored during a 20th-century renovation.Jan Jansz. Gildemeester stands in the middle of the work. Adriaan de Lelie has probably portrayed himself kneeling on the right. Other people depicted in the work are possibly the Amsterdam-based art trader Pierre Fouquet Jr., Dutch physicist baron Cornelius Rudolphus Theodorus Krayenhoff (wearing a tricorne hat), painter Jurriaan Andriessen, tradesman Anthony Dull and his wife Marianne Dull-Dohrmann (sitting behind the easel on the left), and art collector and writer Bernardus de Bosch Jeronimosz. – according to C.J. De Bruyn Knops, the RKD and the Rijksmuseum's website, but this opinion is questioned by others.As usual in that era, the paintings are arranged in rows, close to each other on the walls. It is highly likely that the visible artworks were chosen by the collector and painter together, specifically for this painting, and that they were considered the highlights from Gildemeesters collection. Many works in the first room can be identified with certainty. The art collection of Jan Jansz. Gildemeester was auctioned after his death in 1800, and the auction catalogue documents the works in quite a bit of detail. Gildemeester's taste as an art collector corresponds with that of his contemporaries: he mainly owned genre pieces, marine paintings, landscapes, animal and still-life paintings. His earliest purchases probably were drawings and prints, of which he also built a considerable collection.
Jacob de Wit Amsterdam landscapes drawing Jurriaan Andriessen still-life genre pieces Rijksmonument marine paintings art collector prints animal collection Adriaan de Lelie left Cornelius Rudolphus Theodorus Krayenhoff auction catalog auction Rijksmuseum tricorne