Hendrick Bicker (1615-1651) was the son of one of the most powerful families in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. In 1639 he married the mayor’s daughter, Eva Geelvinck. This painting forms the pendant to the portrait of Eva Geelvinck. They would have hung alongside one another originally, perhaps separated by a chimney breast or mirror. Joachim von Sandrart, who lived and worked in Amsterdam between 1637 and 1642, and thus a contemporary of Rembrandt, was commissioned to capture the young couple on canvas. He painted the newlyweds seated in front of a curtain, which is drawn back to reveal a view of a park.