Portrait of Johannes Hudde

Michiel van Musscher, a pupil of Gabriel Metsu, painted this portrait with great precision. The sitter, Johannes Hudde, wears a morning gown made of Chinese silk, known in Dutch as a ‘Japanse rok.’ While it was de rigueur to wear this type of garment around the house, it was also likely meant to reference his role as a Dutch East India Company (VOC) administrator. The large book on the table with the most important rights or charters of Amsterdam makes it clear that Hudde was also a burgomaster of that city.