 The family portrait was commissioned by Balthasar Hoefnagel (before 1554-1608), which explains the initials 'BH' near the spinet on the table.It is plausible that the family portrait is related to a marriage of Balthasar and Anna van Lieffelt, who can be recognized on the left of the panel as the bride and groom.For this occasion Balthasar also commissioned from Pourbus two additional portraits of himself and his wife, which were still unpaid to Pourbus at the time of his death, according to a record of his estate.