Emanuel de Witte - Adriana van Heusden and Daughter at the Fishmarket [c.1662]

Emanuel de Witte - Adriana van Heusden and Daughter at the Fishmarket [c.1662], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

De Witte was born at Alkmaar, and in 1636 became a member of the guild of painters there. After a brief period in Rotterdam, he moved to Delft in the 1640s. His earliest works are figure paintings in the style of artists from Utrecht. From 1652 he was chiefly active at Amsterdam. His last dated work is of 1688.

This scene was probably painted when de Witte was living in the home of Joris de Wijs and his wife Adriana van Heusden. The picture was the subject of litigation between de Witte and Adriana van Heusden in 1669-71. Although De Witte is mainly known as a painter of interiors, this work illustrates his considerable abilities as a genre painter. It must have been painted after the New Fishmarket in Amsterdam was opened in early 1661, probably about 1662.

[Oil on canvas, 57.1 x 64.1 cm]