95

Jan van Bijlert (1597-1671)
Anna Grave(?): allegory of transitoriness. Signed J, v. Bijlert ft. Painted in the 1630s? Canvas, 76 × 88.5 cm.

The Netherlands Office for Fine Arts, inv.nr.c 1869. Presented in 1967 by A.H. van der Mersch, Zeist.

On the back of the panel is the inscription, in Dutch: Anna Grave, daughter of Hendrik and Maria van ..., first married August 13, 1656 to Hendrik Verbeek and remarried to Mr. Cornelis Sijdervelt of Arnemuiden, Zeeland. She died on January 23, 1680 and was the grandmother of Maria Sijdervelt, who married Pieter van der Mersch, lord of Zuidland and Volkersdijk, born in 1702.

The families concerned were closely related to the Mennonite van Mollems (see cat.nr. 88), who also had a penchant for moral allegory. Knowing the family manners, we find it hard to believe that a young matron of this line would have herself painted as an example of how not to behave in life. It seems more likely that the painting was not a portrait, but that once it had become a family heirloom, later owners tried to identify the woman as one of their ancestors.

For the painter, see Bok 1984, pp. 31-34.