Double Portrait - Elisabeth Bellinghausen and Jacob Omphalius
by Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elder (1493-1555) in 1538/9
When it was posted in the "cc wishlist" channel of the History discord I am a member of, I remembered right away that I have a frame that would fit perfectly; so, I decided to make my first painting cc!
The diptych of Jacob Ompalius, and his fiancée Elisabeth Bellinghausen was actually separated for hundreds of years, after it was split in two after the couple's divorce.
Elizabeth has been on display in art museums since donated in 1912, but it wasn't until 2019 that Jacob was discovered, and they were reunited.
After extensive restoration, and reconstruction of the original (lost) frame with hinges, it has since been on display at Mauritshuis from 2020.
The oil-on-panel double portrait was painted by Bartholomäus Bruyn the Elder (1493-1555) in 1538/9. Bruyn was the leading portait painter for the elite of Cologne, founder of a the first school of portraiture in the city. His realistic style was inspired by artists like Hans Holbein the Younger, and like Holbein, he was meticulous in capturing the details of their luxurious clothing and jewelry. He specialized in diptychs of engaged and married couples. Even though portraits formed the bulk of his output, Bartholomäus Bruyn did not sign them. He signed his religious art only, and attributions of his portraiture spring from stylistic comparisons with the signed pieces.
As is typical of his couple diptychs, the couple in the Mauritshuis are painted against a plan blue background. The groom looks right, the bride left off the frame, towards each other, and a marble ledge or counter begins in the man’s portrait and ends in the female one. This couple was engaged, not yet married, as attested to by the sprig of bittersweet, symbolizing a fiancee in the visual vernacular of Cologne portraiture.
(source)
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I have no idea what the actual size of the piece is, so I decided on a size that suits me - but one can always use the [ / ] keys to make it smaller or larger to suit.
As well as trying to recreate the original frame, I have made 7 additional frame colours:
I'm not sure whether I'll do paintings in the future, there's so many good ones already out there (see: TheJim07 on Tumblr & TSR).
I know many prefer Maxis Match pictures for their saves - I PREFER REAL ONES!
Jours heureux!!
