The sitter, son of Johan Herman van Gelre and Anna Margaretha van Gelre, née Ockerse, was born in Zierikzee on 22 November 1735. He died in the same city on 26 January 1810. Pieter Paul van Gelre married Cecilia van Vrijberghe on 4 August 1761. Van Gelre was a member of the Town Council of Zierikzee in 1755

Painted during the artist's years in Zeeland