Salomon de Bray

Salomon de Bray was a leading figure of Haarlem classicism, a clear, calm style with smooth modelling, bright colour and carefully posed figures. His subjects come from the Bible and classical story, and he was also a thoughtful portraitist.

Born in Amsterdam in 1597, he trained with Pieter Lastman among others and then in Haarlem with Hendrick Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem. He was far more than a painter: he was an architect who drew up plans for buildings in Haarlem, wrote the book Architectura Moderna (1631), and was a poet in the local chamber of rhetoric. He worked with Jacob van Campen on the decoration of Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. Three of his sons became artists, including Jan de Bray. He died in Haarlem in 1664, probably of plague.

The Twins Clara and Aelbert de Bray is a tender portrait of two of his own children.