Portrait of Johanna de Geer and her Children as Charity
Portrait of Johanna de Geer and her Children as Charity or Portrait of Johanna de Geer and her Two Children Cecilia and Laurens Trip as Caritas is an oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter Ferdinand Bol, from c. 1664. It is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum, but hangs on long-term loan to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, also in Amsterdam. The painting is signed at the bottom center 'fBol · fecit ·'. It was probably made c. 1664.
History and description
It depicts Joanna de Geer, the second wife of the wealthy merchant Hendrik Trip, who together with his brother Louis, had the impressive Trippenhuis built in Amsterdam. The two children in the painting are her daughter Cecilia Trip and her son Laurens Trip. De Geer had herself portrayed as a caring mother, surrounded by her two children and a little dog. Thats why the work is interpreted as an allegory on charity. The painting presents the family of the title in a setting with a large and sumptuous curtain behind them, which partially covers a classical column. The left of the scene opens slightly to a landscape.The painting was originally intended as a mantel piece in the Trippenhuis. The painted Ionic pilasters on the left and right used to connect with the further sculpted decoration of its chimney.