Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Anna du Pire as Granida

The artist portrayed his wife as the Persian Princess Granida and himself in the pendant painting as the shepherd Daiphilus. Those were the lovers in the popular pastoral play of the time, Granida (1605) by Pieter Cornelisz. Hooft. The lady in the painting is carrying a bow and arrows over her shoulder, yet her seductive costume does not impress as a hunter´s attire. The erotic accent is more than obvious. Bartholomeus van der Helst was a very successful portraitist and competed with Rembrandt in Amsterdam.