Brief Biography-Cornelis Troost was born in Amsterdam in 1697. He was a pupil of the portraitist Arnold Boonen, and he became inspired by the works of Jean Antoine Watteau and William Hogarth. Troost gained recognition with his portraits of the directors of the college of surgeons in Amsterdam and the noted physician Boerhaave. His Conversations received criticism for being immodest at the time; however, they are his most famous works today, notably the NELRI series. The Latin inscription refers to Nemo loquebatur; no one there spoke. Erat Sermo inter frate s; the friends got to talking. Loquebantur omnes; everyone spoke. Rumor erat in casa; it is loud in the house. Ibant qui poterant, qui non-potuere cadebant, who could still walk, went home, who could no longer fall over.
Troost also painted military subjects and was an acclaimed portraitist. In 1726, he became a burgess of Amsterdam. His daughter Sara earned a high reputation for making copies of her father’s works and other notable Dutch painters.