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 102.0 cm
Physical characteristicsolieverf op doek

Identification

Title(s)
- Portret van Dina Lems, echtgenote van Jan Valckenburgh (former title)
- Portret van 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’
Catalogue reference
- European Paintings, Londen/New York (The Matthiesen Gallery & Stair Sainty Matthiesen Inc.) 2001, p. 24-27
- Documentatiemap Schilderijen.
- Jaarverslag Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 2001, Amsterdam 2002, p. 60-63, afb.
- G. van der Ham, 'Aan de Afrikaanse Kust', Kunstkrant Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, jan./feb. 2002, p. 18, 19 (afbeelding)

Creation

Creation
painter: Daniel Vertangen (signed by artist), Amsterdam
Dating
c. 1660
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Material and technique

Physical description
olieverf op doek
Material
Technique
Dimensions
length 128.3 cm x width 102.0 cm

This work is about

Person
Subject
Place

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
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
- Documentatiemap Schilderijen.
- Jaarverslag Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 2001, Amsterdam 2002, p. 60-63, afb.
- G. van der Ham, 'Aan de Afrikaanse Kust', Kunstkrant Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, jan./feb. 2002, p. 18, 19 (afbeelding)

Related objects

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200415972