10 things about Marten & Oopjen

The two figures are the same size, but the floor tiles in Marten’s portrait are slightly smaller, making him appear to be larger and more imposing. The glove Marten has in his hand is a symbol of authority over his wife.

Being portrayed so richly and in full length was, until then, reserved for monarchs and aristocrats. Then again, Marten and Oopjen also belonged to the innermost circle of the 17th-century beau monde.

In the painting, Oopjen’s feet are remarkably small, which was part of the feminine ideal. The big discs on Marten’s feet announce that he is on the cutting edge of contemporary fashion.

For years, it was thought that the couple depicted were Oopjen’s second husband Maerten Daey and his first wife Machteld. It was not until 1956 that the true identity of Marten and Oopjen was uncovered.

All surviving accounts of Marten’s father, Jan Soolmans, describe him as a pretty nasty character. On more than eighty occasions he was called to task by the Reformed church council for his godless conduct.

The pendant portraits were a joint acquisition made by the Netherlands and France in early 2016. The Louvre and the Rijksmuseum have agreed to always display the two paintings together.

With the toe of her right foot peeking out from under her skirts, Oopjen seems to be moving towards her husband. This, like the glove, is a subtle clue that the two portraits belong together.

To set off their paleness, women wore artificial facial moles, called mouches, made of textile with an adhesive. The fan in her right hand and her veil are furthermore meant to shield her exalted skin against the sun.

X-ray scans made during restoration have uncovered doors in the background of the portraits. The scans also reveal that the glove in Marten’s hand was originally larger and that the chain of Oopjen’s fan was longer.

Despite a price tag, the previous owner ‘simply’ had these paintings mounted on his bedroom wall. That owner was Baron De Rothschild, who hung Marten and Oopjen in the bedroom of his Paris home!