Bartholomeus van der Helst was principally a painter of portraits. The majority of his work is made up of individual portraits, though he also painted family portraits, double portraits and pendant portraits. An example of the latter are the portraits of Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes and his wife Geertruida den Dubbeld. Among his most prestigious assignments were the group portraits of Amsterdam 'schutters' (civil militia members) and regents. The most famous work in this category is his 1648 "Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster" (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). In this large-scale composition depicting 25 people, van der Helst was able to do justice to each individual. He also realised a clear composition through his sophisticated use of light and color.