Conversation piece

[5] In 1629 Rubens referred to a group of women as a 'conversatie van jouffrouwen' ('conversation of ladies', also known as conversatie à la mode and The Garden of Love (Prado)).

[5] The conversation piece's primary characteristic of representing a private interaction were already present in 15th-century paintings such as Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait (1434) and Andrea Mantegna's Lodovico Gonzaga with his Family (1471).

[6] The compositions of merrymaking companies (vrolijk gezelschap) and garden parties (buitenpartij) painted by artists such as Dirck Hals, David Vinckbooms, Adriaen van de Venne and Willem Buytewech were an important influence on the genre.

In addition, representations of elegant companies and balls by Hieronymus Janssens and the works of Peter Paul Rubens, in particular his Garden of Love (Prado Museum), gave an impetus and direction to the development of the genre.

Johann Zoffany specialized in complicated conversation pieces, and most portraits by George Stubbs take this form, with horses and carriages in the composition.