Biography

Isaack Luttichuys was born in London to Dutch parents. The literal English translation of his surname is ‘Littlehouse’. He spent his early life in England with his family, before moving to Amsterdam along with his older brother Simon, where both siblings pursued careers as artists. Isaack specialised in portraits and Simon became a renowned still-life painter. Luttichuys’s ability to sensitively capture his sitters’ features was much admired, and he became popular amongst the wealthy merchant class in Amsterdam and the surrounding areas. His portraits are painted with a fresh and bright palette, which is distinctive from the work of his contemporaries Rembrandt and Frans Hals. Luttichuys’s skilful handling of paint, his balanced compositions, and his attention to detail in depicting the dress and jewellery worn by his sitters combine to create lively and elegant portraits.