A portrait painter to the aristocracy and the House of Orange-Nassau, regent of Holland, Mierevelt’s impeccable style exerted a considerable influence on Dutch portrait painters, including the young Rembrandt (1606-1669). His success in this genre and the need to respond to a growing number of commissions encouraged him to open a workshop with a large number of assistants. The son of a goldsmith from Delft, Mierevelt was invited on several occasions by King Charles I (1600-1649) and Prince Henry Stuart (1640-1660) to visit the English court, but he never took up the offer.

This painting forms a pair with Portrait of a Lady and was executed against the same architectural backdrop. They are believed to a double betrothal portrait, commemorating the marriage of two members of the nobility or the wealthy classes.

The stern, grave countenance matches the dignity the work purports to convey, noticeable in the composition and the technique used, much in the Mannerist portraiture tradition in which the artist was trained under the tutelage of Anthonie Blocklandt (1533/34-1583).