Portrait of Aernout van Beeftingh, his Wife Jacoba Maria Boon and their Children

In this informal family portrait, a mother nurses her baby, a very advanced image for the time. The father studies a print in his collection, while the eldest son puts a portfolio with drawings or prints away in the collector’s cabinet. Van Beeftingh’s son Jozua plays with a whip and toy horse, while toddler Pieter, in his high chair, eats a biscuit. Should he fall, he will be protected by his pad…