The National Gallery’s, Dutch Portraits: The Age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals introduced a new name to many of its visitors – Jan de Bray. Virtually unknown now, De Bray’s portrait, owned by the Queen, of his father and mother as Mark Antony and Cleopatra, was one of the highlights of the show. That painting makes a second appearance at the heart of the exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery on view though 5 October, 2008.

For Jan de Bray was not a mere one-off. He was in fact the most important painter in Haarlem in the second half of the 17th century, a mantle he inherited from his father Salomon, who trained him. In fact the family is one of the dominant artistic dynasties of the Dutch Golden Age – Jan’s brothers Dirck and Joseph were also artists.

Pieck de Bray - Flower still life with Guelder roses, Columbine in a white vase

This beautiful show will be a complete revelation to all lovers of 17th century Dutch art. It will feature masterpieces by all four De Brays. Dirck painted bouquets of flowers; Joseph’s three surviving paintings all celebrate the herring. The brothers were grand masters of historic storytelling and the portrait historié, a form of portraiture which Jan developed, in which sitters take on the roles of historic or mythological figures. Salomon and Jan will dominate the show; and we hope that Jan will take his rightful place in the pantheon of Dutch masters alongside the man he succeeded as the preferred portraitist of the great and good, Frans Hals.

In the tradition of great Dulwich exhibitions such as Dutch Flower Painting, Pieter de Hooch, Gerrit Dou: Rembrandt’s First Pupil, Rembrandt & Co: Dealing in Masterpieces and Adam Elsheimer (declared the best international show of 2006 by Apollo magazine), this magnificent exhibition examines a remarkable, but largely forgotten, family whose place at the heart of the Dutch Golden Age, deserves to be reassessed. The whole family springs to life in Jan’s startling canvasses. This show will introduce these likeable and ingenious personalities to a brand new public. The exhibition's first venue was at the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands.