Portrait of Oopjen Coppit

Original: oil on canvas 132 x 207.5 cm bxh
Date: 1634

The paintings are marriage portraits of Marten and Oopjen, who married on 28 June 1633. The marriage seems to have been based on love, given the difference in descent between the families. The paintings were purchased for Fl. 500. Oopjen brings along Fl. 35,000 as a dowry. The painting shows Oopjen as a 22-year-old young woman who appears to be moving towards Marten; Oopjen lifts up her dress and steps down a flight of stairs. Oopjen Coppit is dressed in a black silk summer dress with a lace collar and around her waist she wears a ribbon trimmed with a rosette. She is wearing a pearl necklace, bracelet and earrings and a black veil over her frizzy hairdo. On the left temple is a mouche, a beauty spot. This was fashionable at the time. In her hand, Oopjen holds a fan and gold chain.

Marten and Oopjen had three children together: Hendrick (1634), Jan (1636) and Cornelia (1637). After the death of Marten in 1641, Oopjen remarried in 1646 to captain Marten Pietersz Daeij. She died in Alkmaar in 1689.

Oopjen was born in 1611 as the daughter of a very wealthy and old regent family that became rich through trading in grain and gunpowder.

Special about this work by Rembrandt

They are the largest portraits, life-size, that Rembrandt painted. Normally only seen among the European nobility. The paintings are full of luxury, not only the clothing but also the marble floor, which was not common at the time. The man was always portrayed on the left because of the incidence of light, which therefore only shows part of the face. The woman, on the other hand, had all the light in her face and was depicted on the right. There is a clear play of lines that Rembrandt made use of. He also accentuated the light and dark with more contrast than in reality. Rembrandt painted everything himself. In other paintings, Rembrandt sometimes had his pupils paint the background or the clothing.

You can find the portrait of Marten here.

Read more about the life and work of Rembrandt van Rijn on his painting page.

The painting belongs to the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris.

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