Portrait of Dina Lems

Daniel Vertangen (signed by artist), c. 1660

Dina Lems gestures towards a grein plant, a variety of pepper cultivated on Africa’s west coast. Her father and her first husband, Jan Valkenburgh (opposite), were employed by the Dutch West India Company. Their – and consequently her – prosperity derived from the trade in pepper, ivory, gold, and enslaved people. While Lems resided in Amsterdam, Valkenburgh spent most of their married life at Fort Elmina in Africa.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4970
  • Dimensionslength 128.3 cm x width 102 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on canvas

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Portrait of Dina Lems

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-4970

  • Description

    Dina Lems (?-1675) wijst naar een greinplant, een soort peper die werd geteeld aan de Afrikaanse westkust. Haar vader en haar eerste man Jan Valkenburgh (1623-1667, SK-A-4969) werkten voor de West Indische Compagnie. Hun – en haar – rijkdom kregen ze door handel in peper, ivoor, goud en tot slaaf gemaakte mensen. Terwijl Lems in Amsterdam woonde, verbleef Valkenburgh het grootste deel van hun huwelijk in fort Elmina in Afrika.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    signature: ‘Vertangen.F’

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Daniel Vertangen (signed by artist), Amsterdam

  • Dating

    c. 1660

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    length 128.3 cm x width 102 cm

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

  • Place

  • Period

    1642 - 1667

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the Mondriaan Stichting, the Stichting Dr Hendrik Muller's Vaderlandsch Fonds, the Frans Mortelmans Stichting, the M.A.O.C. Gravin van Bylandt Stichting and the K.F. Hein Fonds

  • Acquisition

    purchase 2001-08-30

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    See the provenance for SK-A-4969.

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

    • European Paintings, Londen/New York (The Matthiesen Gallery & Stair Sainty Matthiesen Inc.) 2001, p. 24-27
    • Jaarverslag Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 2001, Amsterdam 2002, p. 60-63, afb.
    • Documentatiemap Schilderijen.
    • G. van der Ham, 'Aan de Afrikaanse Kust', Kunstkrant Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, jan./feb. 2002, p. 18, 19 (afbeelding)

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