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| Dirck van Delen Seven-part decorative sequence Gallery 1630-32 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
"One cannot say exactly when the wealthy citizens of the Republic began to decorate their homes with wall-size oil paintings, but in any case Utrecht widow Lampsins was by no means the only one to do so in the 1660s. The oldest preserved room-filling ensemble, usually attributed to Dirck van Delen (1605-1671), dates from the years 1630-32. Here we see an illustrious company of aristocrats, including the stadholder's family, in a decor of impressive imaginary architecture. The pilasters in the corners of the paintings and the marble floors painted in perspective give the viewer the impression that the paintings simply continue the real space of the room."
– from Art and Allegiance in the Dutch Golden Age by Margriet van Eikema Hommes (Amsterdam University Press, 2012)
The seven paintings by Dirck van Delen reproduced here are intended to form a continuous narrative loop when hung around the walls of an appropriate room. They are owned today by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, on loan to the Palace Het Loo.
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| Dirck van Delen Seven-part decorative sequence Outdoor stairway 1630-32 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Dirck van Delen Seven-part decorative sequence Outdoor stairway 1630-32 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Dirck van Delen Seven-part decorative sequence Interior 1630-32 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Dirck van Delen Seven-part decorative sequence Outdoor stairway 1630-32 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Dirck van Delen Seven-part decorative sequence Outdoor stairway 1630-32 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Dirck van Delen Seven-part decorative sequence Gallery 1630-32 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |