Brooklyn Museum: European Art: Burgomaster Hasselaar and His Wife

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Burgomaster Hasselaar and His Wife

A man of affairs, Burgomaster Hasselaar sits with quill in hand before a book and globe, both illuminated by soft light from the left. With a row of valuable leather-bound books on the shelf behind her, his wife, dressed in a costly millstone ruff, stands nearby with her hand on an overturned lute, an instrument symbolizing marital harmony. In the background, a well-known subject by Dou of a cave-dwelling hermit at prayer hangs on the wall, probably as a reminder that the couple’s material concerns—business and possessions—must be balanced by spiritual ones.

Artist: Circle of Gerrit Dou, Dutch, 1613-1675
Medium: Oil on panel
Place Made: Netherlands
Dates: mid 17th century
Dimensions: Oval: 27 3/16 x 23 in. (69.1 x 58.4 cm)
Signature: Signed lower left on bottom step: "GDov"
Collections: European Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Beaux-Arts Court, North, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 32.783
Credit Line: Gift of the executors of the estate of Colonel Michael Friedsam
Image: Overall, 32.783.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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melissa (3)
- beaver hat
- globe
- millstone ruff
ninakuriloff (9)
- figures
- standing figure
- seated figure
- woman
- man
- interior
- portrait
- Netherlands
- oil on panel

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Collections: European Art: Burgomaster Hasselaar and His Wife