Hey everybody, this is my first post and I have no shame in admitting that my sole reason for joining is because I am trying to identify a painting for a friend. They've had it in their family for generations and have no idea who painted it or if it's worth a lot and needs to be protected or insured etc. I only have a couple of iPhone pics at the moment which don't do it justice, it's stunning up close...

The only details I have are that it's almost certainly older than 1880 (as that's when the family obtained it) and it was obtained in Holland although who knows where and when it originated! Any ideas? I am very ignorant of the art world, I couldn't say if this was renaissance, Baroque, Classical etc... no idea...

Image 1 (whole painting):
http://i.imgur.com/LsUMj.jpg

Image 2 (close up of face):
http://i.imgur.com/OtaF0.jpg

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, folks!

Thanks!