Lot 228: Attributed to Harmen Serin (Antwerp 1677-circa 1754 The Hague) Portrait of Isaac Scheltus, half-length, in brown and gold costume; and Portrait of his wife, Maria Moll, half-length, in a red dress (2)

Attributed to Harmen Serin (Antwerp 1677-circa 1754 The Hague)
Portrait of Isaac Scheltus, half-length, in brown and gold costume; and Portrait of his wife, Maria Moll, half-length, in a red dress former bears coat-of-arms (upper left) and latter bears coat-of-arms (upper right)a pair, oil on canvas, corners made up78.3 x 60.1cm (30 13/16 x 23 11/16in).(2)

We are grateful to Jim van der Meer Mohr for informing us that these portraits were part of a collection of portraits of the Scheltus family, sold in New York in 1942 and although the collection included portraits by Serin and they are attributed to that artist on the RKD wesite, the 1942 sale catalogue described this pair as 'J. Vollevens'.Provenance: Sale, O. Rundle Gilbert, New York, 16 December 1942, lots 7 and 15.According to an inscription on the reverse of each portrait, possibly transcribed from the original canvases, Isaac (1691-1749) and Maria (1694-1742) were married on 26 July 1717 and it is possible that these works were painted to celebrate this union.