Rembrandt.Portrait of Agatha Bas,
Wife of Nicolas van Bambeeck. 1641. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection,
Buckingham Palace, London, UK. More.
Agatha Bas (1611-58) was a member of one of
Amsterdam’s leading families, the daughter of Dirk Jacobszoon Bas, a director
of the Dutch East India Company who had served as burgomaster of the city
on several occasions. She married Nicholas van Bambeeck (1596-1661), a
successful cloth merchant who was an immigrant from Flanders. Rembrandt
had probably known Bambeeck for some time before he painted both his portrait
and the companion portrait of Agatha. In 1640 both Rembrandt and Bambeeck
invested in business of the art-dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh.
