Philips Lucasz. of Middelburg made a very successful career in the service of the Dutch East India Company. He was appointed Councillor General Extraordinary of the Dutch East Indies in 1631. In 1633 he returned to the Netherlands as the commander of a trading fleet and in the following year married Petronella Buys whose family came from The Hague. A portrait of his wife, dated 1635 (France, private collection) is its pendant. The two portraits were painted during a stay in Amsterdam, when Lucasz. received from the Company the gold chain he wears proudly. In May 1635 Lucasz. returned from Amsterdam to the East Indies. He died at sea in 1641.
Originally, the left hand was included, but was painted over when the portrait was transformed from its original, rectangular format to its present oval shape. This was probably done at the end of the 17th century.
