In the 16th century, a group portrait appeared in the Dutch portrait painting, which later became widespread in the north of the country. The appearance of a group portrait is associated with the growth of the self-awareness of burghers and the formation of a sense of community of class and business interests.
One of the founders of the group portrait was Dirk Jacobs. The Hermitage Group portrait of the corporation of the Amsterdam Riflemen from the collection of Count Bruhl is an early work of this genre. The painting by Dirk Jacobs shows the members of the shooting guild.
The main functions of such organizations were the protection of public order and the protection of the city from external enemies. Similar portraits were placed in the town hall and are now rarely found in museum collections. Arrows are dressed in the clothes of their corporation: a red-blue raincoat and a black flat cap. Their figures are arranged in three rows, one on top of the other. In the center there is a chapter of the guild in a cuirass and with a musket in his hands. On the cloak of one of the men in the foreground is an eagle claw – the emblem of the corporation.
The picture shows people of different ages, looks and temperament, but they are united by an understanding of the social importance of their team and pride in belonging to it. The desire to capture as many faces as possible on one canvas is dictated by the practicality of customers – it is known that the payment for group portraits ordered by guilds was made by each person portrayed separately, and the value of the fee depended on the placement; the most expensive was the first plan. The skill of Dirk Jacobs manifested itself in the ability to give an individual psychological portrait of each depicted.
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