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In 1634-35 Anthony van Dyck undertook several journeys on the continent, being one of the portrait painters most in demand. He travelled also to Brussels, where the double portraits of Justus van Meerstraeten and his wife Isabella van Assche were painted. As syndic, Meerstraeten was the holder of the city's highest office, and this is how the artist has portrayed him.
Justus van Meerstraeten is clearly indoors, while in the companion piece his wife Isabella van Assche is shown in something like a grotto, opening on the right into a wooded landscape.
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