Sold.......portrait of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, 17th Century; After Johann Boeckhorst

SOLD.....Oil on canvas in giltwood frame.

A 17th c. copy, conceivably a Studio version, of the portrait painted by Boeckhorst c.1659, to celebrate the Duke's initiation as a Member of the Guild of St. George, Bruges. The original is in the Groothuis, Bruges; a replica, 1662, was painted for the Guild of Arbalasters. A third copy, thought to be this one, was sold at Christie's in 1954. The only other known replica is in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG 1932) and came from the family collection of the Viscounts Dillon, Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire.

PRINCE HENRY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER (1640-1660) was the third son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria; as a child, he lived at Oxford during the Civil War until it was captured by the forces of Parliament in 1646. He saw his father just before his execution in 1649; in 1652 he was allowed join his mother abroad where he resisted her determined attempts to convert him to Catholicism.

In 1658 he fought for the Spanish army against the French, showing great bravery and resource. (In this portrait the prince is depicted not only wearing armour but holding the baton of a commanding officer). Shortly after his return to England at the Restoration he died of smallpox; a great loss, for all praised his his vivacity, wit and understanding. Had Henry lived, as a staunch Protestant he would have been a viable proposition to replace his deposed Catholic brother James in 1688, and the Stuart reign would have continued.

JOHANN BOECKHORST was a Flemish painter and draughtsman of German birth (c. 1604 - 1668). Educated as a scholar, Boeckhorst became a cleric at the seminary of St. Clemens in Germany in 1621, he later moved to Antwerp where, in 1626, he became a pupil of Jacob Jordaens and Peter Paul Rubens. The great influence of these artists on Boeckhorst is apparent In 1633/34, while serving as an assistant of Rubens, he became a free master of the Antwerp guild of St. Luke. Boeckhorst traveled throughout Italy between 1635 and 1637 and returned in 1638 to visit Rome. The Flemish artist also completed numerous commissions in the 1630s as an independent painter. In addition, Boeckhorst collaborated on numerous commissions with notable artists like Fyt, Brueghel ,Snyders, and Wildens, who were also influenced by Rubens. However, the majority of his commissions date after c. 1650.

As in this portrait of Prince Henry, Boeckhorst’s work after 1650 was heavily influenced by the Flemish artist Van Dyck. Elements of Van Dyck’s style that appear in Boeckhorst's work include figure type and dramatic structure.

SIZE: 56 x 46.5 inches inc. frame

PROVENANCE: Collection of a West Country Gentleman; left to his housekeeper.