Family portrait consist of close-ones standing or posing together for a picture for remembrance that is my definition of what a family portrait is. It captures time, relationship and culture at that moment within the portrait.
There is one family portrait that I know is Jacob Coeman Portrait of Pieter Cnoll and his familie, 1665. This painting depicts Pieter Cnoll, a senior merchant of the VOC in Batavia, and his Japanese courtesan, Cornelia, together with his daughter and servants. I find this family portrait rather interesting as through this painting itself, it tells people what kind of family they are and their relation to another. For instance the way they are dressed tells that they are from the upper class in society, as when compare with the servants in the background Cornelia is dressed beautifully wearing a white pearl necklace, holding a fan, while the servants are poorly dressed. The choices of colors on her clothes also tell us her status. As for relation, the capture of the Asian looks of the daughters tells us the connection between them and Cornelia. The fact that this was painted out fascinates me as I feel that it is harder to capture facial expression on a painting rather than just taking a photo to capture everything within that moment.
If I were to take a family portrait, I would most likely do it in a photo studio as they have everything provided there for us. But on second thought I think it would rather be interesting to take a family portrait anywhere in order the capture the moment as a family together in that period of time just by the way we dress and behave while taking that shot, rather than being so formal like Jacob Coeman Portrait of Pieter Cnoll and his familie,1665.