17th Century Portrait of Gentleman, Maurits, Prince of Orange-nassau; Studio of Michiel Van Mierevelt, Provenance Chateau De Vouzeron

Oil on panel

In 1607, the Delft city council decided to commission a portrait of Stadholder Maurits of Nassau for the town hall, with Michiel van Mierevelt as the chosen artist due to the passing of the previous court painter Daniël van den Queborn. The receipt from 1608 revealed that Van Mierevelt received the substantial sum of 200 guilders for the painting, which was competed in 1607. He was also granted a six-year patent by the States-General for reproductions of the portrait in copperplate engravings, solidifying his position as the official court painter. Maurits, who was appointed stadholder after the murder of his father William of Orange, in 1584, was depicted at almost three-quarter length, wearing a richly decorated gold coloured suit of armour. The orange-red of his sash signify the House of Orange and the medallion of the Order of the Garter hangs from a ribbon on his chest.

Van Mierevelt depicted the stadholder in a very natural pose and rendered details of the composition with utmost believability. The scene therefore makes a sharp contrast with the rather stiff portrait that Van der Queborn produced about nine years earlier. Van Mierevelt's portrait was extremely successful: as early as 1607, the year of its completion, at least one replica was painted, for the States-General. In 1608 Jan Muller's print of the painting appeared, for which Van Mierevelt had been granted a patent in 1607. Dozens of other portraits of Maurits from Van Mierevelt's studio - busts, three-quarter and full-length likenesses show that the painter and his assistants probably turned-out hundreds of versions in the ensuing decades, of which our portrait is one such example. The basic concept remained the same throughout, although the facial features were sometimes modified to reflect Maurits's advancing years; the stadholder probably did not pose for the painter again after 1607.

After Delft built a new town hall in 1620, Van Mierevelt was commissioned to furnish it with four equally large portraits of Maurits's father, his two brothers and his nephew. In 1624 he supplied another three works for the town hall, making a series of eight portraits in all. These paintings probably served as an example for similar portrait galleries elsewhere.

Michiel Van Marivel’s contribution to portrait painting in the early seventeenth century Holland is evident through his appointment as the official artist at the Stadholder court in 1607 and his notable works capturing the likeness of prominent figures. Thus, he was responsible for the majority of portraits of the House of Orange Nassau, including Prince Maurice and his brother Fredrik Hendrik. He was the most productive and successful portraitist in Delft and apart from the many Dutch patrons, Mierevelt achieved such success that his studio became one of the largest in operation. English clientele were also very keen to commission him their portrait (and several copies to give to friends, relatives and their children). Mierevelt's legacy as a renowned portrait artist in England is evident through his notable works featuring Elizabeth of Bohemia, showcasing his talent and popularity during his time.

Mierevelt had more clientele than he could handle and his winckel was a slick operation capable of a large output with three or four fully trained assistants working with him at any one time, of which many rose to fame, including Paulus Moreelse and Jan Antonisz. Van Ravesteyn. His sons, Jan and Pieter, worked in his studio under his guidance and supervision.

Provenance:

Chateau de Vouzeron, Loire, France. Built in 1887, the Chateau de Vouzeron is located 100km south of Paris in the Loire Valley region of France. It was built by Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur for Baron Eugène Roger (1850–1906). Destailleur had, a few years earlier, built the Franconville castle in Saint-Marti

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