Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck C.1695; Attributed to Johannes Van Haensbergen.

Name: Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck C.1695; Attributed to Johannes Van Haensbergen.
Brand: Antique
SKU: SA675256
Availability: SoldOut

17th century

Sold by Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art

Description

Small oil on canvas in period carved and giltwood frame.

The young sitter, Catharina Margaretha Beck, by the standards of the time of marriageable age, is depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. Arcady, or Arcadia, was a mythological land, home of the god Pan, where love, innocence, and peace reigned.

At the centre of Arcady is the Garden of Love where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The fountain makes an allusion to her potential as a wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, chapter 5, verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth".

This is a very high quality portrait with symbolism typical of the Baroque period.

CATHERINA MARGARETHA BECK (1680 -1737) was born in Middelburg, Walcheren, where her father was Burgomaster. She became the second wife of Baron Guisbert van Hogendorp van Hofwegen in 1696. Thus she married into an old and influential family of the Dutch nobility. The marriage produced nine children of whom three died in the year of their birth. Catherina died in South Gravenage in 1737, aged 57.

JOHANNES (Jan) VAN HAENSBERGEN (1642–1705) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He was registered in the Utrecht Guild of St. Luke in 1668 and in 1669 he was registered in the Confrerie Pictura in The Hague, where he married Johanna van Heusden and worked on portraits for the elite there. According to Houbraken he was born in Utrecht. He was a student of Cornelius van Poelenburgh, and though he was quite successful in imitating his master's style of landscape painting, he switched to portraits since he could make a comfortable living making "flattering ladies portraits that made their skin look whiter". (Pale skin was the sign of quality at the time, only peasants who worked outside for a living had tanned skin). His portrait style shows the influence of Caspar Netscher.

SIZE:28 x 24.25 x 2.5 inches including the frame.

PROVENANCE: *Bonhams, London, Old Master Paintings, April 2015.

*The collection of a lady, Southern England.

Verso: an old Christie's stencil, and a handwritten label, dated 1930, with inventory numbers.

Physical Dimensions

Height

71cm (27.95")

Width

61.5cm (24.21")

Depth

6.5cm (2.56")

Declaration

Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA675256

Dealers Internal Reference

9166

Description

Small oil on canvas in period carved and giltwood frame.

“

The young sitter, Catharina Margaretha Beck, by the standards of the time of marriageable age, is depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time.

Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art

Arcady, or Arcadia, was a mythological land, home of the god Pan, where love, innocence, and peace reigned.

fig 1. Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck c.1695; Attributed to Johannes van Haensbergen. — fig 1. Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck C.1695; Attributed to Johannes Van Haensbergen.

At the centre of Arcady is the Garden of Love where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The fountain makes an allusion to her potential as a wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, chapter 5, verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth".

fig 2. Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck c.1695; Attributed to Johannes van Haensbergen. — fig 2. Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck C.1695; Attributed to Johannes Van Haensbergen.

This is a very high quality portrait with symbolism typical of the Baroque period.

CATHERINA MARGARETHA BECK (1680 -1737) was born in Middelburg, Walcheren, where her father was Burgomaster. She became the second wife of Baron Guisbert van Hogendorp van Hofwegen in 1696. Thus she married into an old and influential family of the Dutch nobility. The marriage produced nine children of whom three died in the year of their birth. Catherina died in South Gravenage in 1737, aged 57.

fig 3. Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck c.1695; Attributed to Johannes van Haensbergen. — fig 3. Portrait of Catharina Margaretha Beck C.1695; Attributed to Johannes Van Haensbergen.

JOHANNES (Jan) VAN HAENSBERGEN (1642–1705) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He was registered in the Utrecht Guild of St. Luke in 1668 and in 1669 he was registered in the Confrerie Pictura in The Hague, where he married Johanna van Heusden and worked on portraits for the elite there. According to Houbraken he was born in Utrecht. He was a student of Cornelius van Poelenburgh, and though he was quite successful in imitating his master's style of landscape painting, he switched to portraits since he could make a comfortable living making "flattering ladies portraits that made their skin look whiter". (Pale skin was the sign of quality at the time, only peasants who worked outside for a living had tanned skin). His portrait style shows the influence of Caspar Netscher.