A Family Group

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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We don’t know their names, but this was undoubtedly a wealthy, fashion-conscious family, almost certainly from Antwerp where the artist, Gonzales Coques, was based. Group portraits such as this were popular among the city elite and artists incorporated gestures, looks and activities to bring the scene to life and to suggest the character of the individuals and their relationships to each other. Here the father, serious and slightly preoccupied, looks down to his left. His son – dressed in skirts, which were commonly worn by boys – is distracted by the antics of a tame bird, but looks the same direction. The wife and daughters, however, look on a contrasting diagonal. This sequence of figures forms a graceful arc, linked and contrasted by looks and gestures.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Family Group

Date

about 1664

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 64.2 x W 85.5 cm

Accession number

NG821

Acquisition method

Bought, 1871

Work type

Painting

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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