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Rootius, Jan Albertsz.
Portrait of Five Sisters
Around 1655

Rootius, a painter from the northern province of Friesland who specialized in group portraits, depicts five richly dressed sisters with attributes and Latin inscriptions referencing familiar Christian virtues. The girl in red holds a crucifix for Faith (Fides), the sisters in the middle nurture their baby sister (Caritas, or Charity), and the girl at right holds an anchor, symbolic of Hope (Spes). Their pet falcon may allude to the training that will inculcate these virtues.

 
Rootius, Jan Albertsz.
Medemblik, Netherlands around 1615–Hoorn, Netherlands 1674
Portrait of Five Sisters
Around 1655
Oil on canvas
133.0 x 168.0 cm
Gift of Alfred and Isabel Bader, 1995
38-007

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