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.