Self-Portrait
by SCHALCKEN, Godfried, Oil on copper, 43 x 32 cm
The companion-piece of this self-portrait is the portrait of the artist’s wife, Fran�oise van Diemen. Schalken was trained by Gerrit Dou, and the two portraits follow Dou’s model. In these paintings the fashionable silks, brocades and Venetian lace are portrayed in meticulous detail. As the hand-on-heart gesture is associated with marriage vows, this double portrait was probably painted for the couple’s wedding in 1679.