Family portraits of Jean-Baptiste d'Hane and Marie Anne de Nieulant

The individuals in the painting lived in the Flemish city of Ghant, in the southern Lower Countries, part of the Spanish Empire. They wore black clothing, highly valued in a region that produced dyed woolen cloth. Jean-Baptiste was part of the Flemish Council; the letter he holds in his hand proves his royal ties. His wife, Marie-Anne Nieulant, born in 1625 and married in 1653, is accompanied by their son, Jean-Baptiste, who wears a hat with a turned-down brim with a quilted front band that was used to protect the heads of children who were beginning to walk.