Frans Hals, 'Willem Coymans', 1645. © National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Andrew W. Mellon Collection (1937.1.69). Image 2007 Board of Trustees.

Following its independence from Spain in the 17th century, the Dutch Republic experienced an era of unprecedented wealth, the so-called 'Golden Age.'

Thanks to the successful activities of its merchants and entrepreneurs - and in sharp distinction to the rest of Europe - a new middle-class elite emerged. Its members became the dominant force in local government and civic institutions, and as a result became the new principal patrons of the arts. Portraits were especially suitable to express their newly found self-confidence and desire for representation, and artists responded by developing new types of portraits to meet the demands of this clientele.

It includes some 60 works, all painted between 1600 and 1680. Exhibits range from small, individual portraits meant for the private home to the large-scale group portraits of members of charitable institutions and civic guards.

Rembrandt (1606–1669), Double Portrait of Jan Rijcksen and Griet Jans (‘The Shipbuilder and his Wife), 1633. The Royal Collection © 2006, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (RCIN 405533).

Banquet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra: Family Portrait with Salomon de Bray and Anna Westerbaen, 1652. The Royal Collection © 2006, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (RCIN 404756).

Double Portrait of the Twins Clara and Albert de Bray, about 1646. Private collection (on loan to the National Gallery of Scotland) (NGL002.95). © National Galleries of Scotland.

Nicolaes Maes (1634–1693), Family Portrait, about 1676. © Courtesy Konrad O. Bernheimer of P. & D. Colnaghi, London and Richard Green, London (PND281).

Gerrit van Honthorst (1592–1656), Portrait of King Charles I with a Letter in his Hand, 1628. © By Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 4444).

Nicolaes Maes, 'Portrait of Cornelis Munter', 1679. © Amsterdams Historisch Museum (SA 946).

Jan Claesz, 'Portrait of Lysbeth Walichsdr and her Daughter Elisabeth', 1602. © Westfries Museum, Hoorn (1416)

Johannes Verspronck, 'Portrait of Andries Stilte as a Standard Bearer', 1640. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Patrons' Permanent Fund (1998.13.1). © Image 2007 Board of Trustees.

Jan van Ravesteyn, 'Portrait of Hugo Grotius', 1599. © Frits Lugt Collection, Institut Néerlandais, Paris (175).

Bartholomeus van der Helst, 'Double Portrait of Abraham del Court and Maria de Kaersgieter', 1654. © Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (1296).

Frans Hals, 'Portrait of Willem van Heythuysen', about 1634-35. Private collection. © Photo courtesy of the owner.

Frans Hals, 'Portrait of Pieter van den Broecke', 1633. English Heritage (The Iveagh Bequest, Kenwood) (88028830). © English Heritage Photo Library, Swindon.

Du 27 juin au 16 septembre 2007, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN London