Group portrait of an aristocratic family, full-length, before a draped curtain, in an interior, a park landscape beyond

Little is known about this interesting German painter whose compositions are invariably on a small scale. He was born at Ovelgönne near Pinneberg in 1613 though certain biographers consider 1600 to be his birth date. He was the son of a bookkeeper at the corn exchange who was known because of a disability as 'the Ovelgonne mute'. He certainly travelled to Holland and Italy, where he met Gerrit van Honthorst, who was to have a strong influence on his work. After travelling to Utrecht his painting took a dramatic turn towards the Caravaggesque movement, particularly in his use of artificial light. In Rome he gained a number of important commissions around 1645 and a letter of 1646 mentions Ferdinando II, the Grand Duke of Tuscany as a patron. He lived for some years in Denmark where he became a successful Court painter.
His pictures are usually of genre subjects and small portraits painted with great care and with particular attention paid to the rendering of cloth and jewellery. He returned to Oldenbourg in 1667 and continued to work there until his death after 1678.
Examples of the artist's work can be found in museums in Bremen, Cassel, Hanover, Munster, London (National Portrait Gallery), Paris (Louvre), Rome (Doria Pamphilj) and Dijon.