c. 1800

Man at a Desk

Dutch (active Dordrecht), 1753 - 1826

In the Netherlands, reading was a practical necessity for members of the merchant class and their wealthy heirs. The money bags lying on the floor outside the open lockbox suggest that this man may be a merchant or a banker. The large format and wide spaces between lines of text in the book he is reading indicate that he is occupied with a ledger. The grand, upright volume with elaborate clasps on the table behind him is likely his Bible. The framed picture above the Bible reproduces a painting by seventeenth-century artist Aelbert Cuyp who, like Van Strij, was from Dordrecht.