Provenance:
- Sale Christie's, London, 24.3.1972.
- Private collection, Switzerland.
- Sale Dobiaschofsky, Bern, 15.–18.05.2013, Lot 329.

Jan Antonisz. van Ravesteyn came from a family of artists in The Hague and was probably a pupil of the Delft artist Michiel van Mierevelt (1566–1641), whose work was to strongly influence him. In 1598 Ravesteyn joined the Guild of St Luke in his home town and married Anna Arentsz. van Berendrecht in 1604. Ravesteyn became famous for his excellent group portraits and individual portraits, commissioned by the wealthy bourgeoisie and nobility. He passed on his skills to numerous pupils and also taught his son Arnold the art of portrait painting. In 1656, Ravesteyn was instrumental in founding the Confrérie Pictura, the ‘Brotherhood of Painting’, a breakaway group from the Guild of St. Luke, which was intended to strengthen the cohesion and protection of its members. Ravesteyn's works are characterised by the exceedingly detailed depiction of rich garments in a muted colouring typical of the period. The sitter of the present painting, Daniel de Ruyter (born probably in 1632) was the son of an important merchant family from Antwerp. The members of this family frequently had their portraits painted by Jan Anthonisz. van Ravesteyn. A similar portrait of Daniel de Ruyter's elder brother Joannes was painted in 1632 (RKD no. 25330), and the portraits of David de Ruyter's parents in the Honolulu Museum of Art (inv. no. 3382.1) and Lucretia van der Meulens (RKD no. 4334) date from 1639.