Portraits of the Inhabitants at St Jobsgasthuis in Utrecht

The group portrait of the inhabitants at St Jobsgasthuis in Utrecht is the only one of its kind in the art of 17th century portraiture. No other portrait from this period, in which the poor take centre stage, is known. The hospital, founded in 1504, was the first dedicated to receiving and caring for syphilitic patients. Throughout the course of the 16th and 17th centuries, it developed into a home for elderly men. After 1637, Jan van Bijlert was the most popular portraitist in Utrecht.