Portrait of Marietje van Houten
The intimate nature of this portrait of Van Houten’s half-sister Marietje is characteristic of the artist’s work. The painter from The Hague was part of an important artistic network, in which her brother-in-law, Hendrik Willem Mesdag and his wife Sientje van Houten, played a pivotal role. Barbara and Sientje van Houten were not allowed to attend an art academy, and so availed themselves of their own circle for their artistic education.