Nicolaes Maes

Maerten Nieupoort was captain of a company of foot soldiers. He was born on 4 July 1642. On 20 December 1667, he married Maria Colve, whose portrait was also painted by Maes. Both paintings are in the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Maerten Nieupoort died on 25 October 1674 during the siege of Grave. The canvas shows Nieupoort before an evening landscape. He is wearing a breast cuirass and is resting on a helmet that is on a plinth. The plinth is a reference of the power and strength that are attributed to Nieupoort. The warrior-like pose assumed by the captain is also a reference to his job as soldier. The portrait was painted by Nicolaes Maes at the height of his creative powers. Around 1670, his development to elegant, monumental portraits against a landscape-like background had reached full maturity. Later, Maes, with his large output, would repeat his poses and base his work more on his routine.