RKD STUDIES

5.2 Comparison with other Bohemian Art Collections

... nd strengthen the collection as a whole. The collection of Elector Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655–1729) was considered as one of the greatest in South Germany [6]. It is not known to what extent these collectors had an interest in symmetrical arrangements like Wrschowetz, but Elector Franz Lothar von Schönborn placed his paintings according to the latest fashion.31Bohemian collectors could obtain paintings from Flemish art dealers who were active in the region. The Forchondt family from Antwerp, for instance, had a branch in Vienna and belonged to the most important art dealers of their time, other dealers active in Vienna were Jan Vlooitz, Bartholomeus Floquet (c. 1645-1690) and Fransiscus de Neve II (1632-after 1704).32 Renowned collectors such as Count Humbrecht Jan Czernin, Johann Hartwig Nostitz (1610–1683) [7], Prince Johann Adolf von Schwarzenberg (1615–1682) and Franz Anton Berka von Dubá acquired paintings from the Forchondt firm. Apart from Vienna, Prague had a good market for paintings. The dealer Guilliam van de Cruys (Creutz) (1628-1672) had his shop based in Prague. Art dealers not only sold imported pictures from the Low Countries but also from local contemporary artist.33 Possibly, Wrschowetz acquired his first paintings from the art agent and painter Johann Spillenberger (c. 1628-1679); he was based in Vienna and the son-in-law of the dealer Melchior Lidl who moved his dealership from Augsburg to Amsterdam in the 1670s. Wrschowetz had three paintings by Spillenberger in his collection. Furthermore, the painter-dealer sold mainly paintings by Netherlandish and German artists which fits within Wrschowetz’s collection; he had pictures by the following German artists in his collection: Hans von Aachen (1552-1615), Heinrich Aldegrever (1502-1555), Johann Michael Bretschneider, (1680-1729), Hans Burgkmair I (1473–1531), Lucas Cranach (1473-1553), Matthäus Gundelach (1566-1654), Johann Heiss (1640-1704), Johann Philip Lemke (1631-1711) and Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609-1684). Among Spillenberger’s clients were many Bohemian collectors, e.i. from the Czernin, Nostitz and Berka families....

4.3 The Shape of the Collection

... n Leiden resulted in a number of works in Schwerin by these two successors to the Leiden style. In the same way, the visit paid by Van Hafften to the widow of Godefridus Schalcken resulted in an outstanding work of the artist in the duke’s possession. From very specific predilections on the part of the collector this painting was deaccessioned only one year later, making it one of the treasures of the Mauritshuis today [6], a fact that, for Schwerin, may seem deplorable, but illustrates how precise the collector’s vision of a successful paintings collection was in this early phase.26...

... works. This reduced the risk for both parties since the dealer already knew that his client was interested in that particular artist’s work and the buyer had works at hand to compare and ascertain the attribution and quality of the work offered. It seems to be this effect that has brought to Schwerin a striking number of works by artists like Willem van Aelst (9 paintings) [7],28 Jan Asselijn (7) [8],29 Ludolf Bakhuizen (10) [9],30 Pieter van Bloemen (9),31 Herman Saftleven (9),32 and Otto Marseus van Schrieck (7) [10],33 even if occasionally some have turned out to be wrong attributions. The same reasons may apply to the large amount of works in the collection w...

4.1 Background

... ...

... ömitz without being able to do much damage anymore. Nevertheless, his unrelenting wrath was cumbersome for the family as were his constant petitions to the Emperor. They only ceased with his death in 1747 and only from then on could Christian Ludwig officially claim to be the Ruling Duke, after having steered the fortunes of the country for more than 15 years already.It was only in 1732, at the precise moment that Christian Ludwig was installed as Imperial Commissioner, that he decided to underscore his claim to ruling the country with art collections that were worthy of a high-ranking prince of the Holy Roman Empire. It is very clear that at this point in time a new era had begun for him. Only from the beginning of the Commission in November 1732 on his zeal to enlarge the collections is to be noticed. Therefore, the Schwerin collection of Dutch and Flemish as well as some French paintings is a show-case example for the intentions and the mechanisms of 18th-century collecting. It is a classic case of 'conspicuous consumption' which, together with concerted building efforts in strategic places of the dukedom, had to show off princely magnificence and splendour that was lacking in terms of genealogy. The building projects are not the subject of this article, but they should be treated in the same context. Compared to projects by other monarchs in Europe, they hardly seem impressive. However, seen in the context of the means available and the current situation in the duchy, they too are significant. In the light of a recent finding of a number of architectural drawings from the period in Schwerin, these projects now have also received due attention.7...

2.3 Unspecified Artworks

... after Schleswig had fallen into the hands of the Danish king, this painting ended up in the Danish royal collection and afterwards in the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. Three other paintings were auctioned in 1824; the fifth was missing as early as 1750.31 Since the local engraver Christian Rothgiesser (before 1630–1659) made prints after three of the paintings, it can be deduced that Van de Venne’s animal allegories must have already been at Gottorf Castle in the 1650s, which makes it pretty certain that Frederick III owned these works [13-15].32...

... image for his large Gottorf peace party. The Gottorf ducal family in a peace allegory from circa 1652 [17]. Contacts between Van de Venne and Ovens are, however, not known. The series of paintings with the five animal allegories will probably have been appreciated within the context of the Gottorf Kunstkammer mainly because of its subject – animals dressed as people. This may partly explain why the name of the artist was no longer known when the 1710 Gottorf inventory was drawn up....

... in Amsterdam and paying an insurance sum, Ovens managed to arrange the export of the marble portrait busts of Frederick III and Mary Elisabeth to Northern Germany at the end of 1662. The Amsterdam sculptor François de Saggere, the brother-in-law of Artus and Hubertus, for whom Ovens wrote a letter of recommendation, oversaw the transportation of the sculptures and their installation in niches in the ducal crypt.43 The ‘Marmorne Bildtnußen’ which Ovens sold to the court in 1654, certainly are not identical with the busts, since he only received a total of 474 Reichstaler and 20 Schilling for paintings and sculpture (see above).44Harry Schmidt assumed several smaller sculptures by Artus Quellinus I might also have come in the possession of the Dukes of Gottorf through Ovens’ intermediary activities, perhaps in conjunction with the commission for the sculptor to decorate the ducal graves.45 In the 1710 inventory of Gottorf Castle, namely, we find 1. ‘A woman offering her breast to a child, modelled by Quellin’, 2. ‘A shield of children, modelled by Quellin’, 3. ‘A lying child with a cross, smooth, and from the same master’ [23-26]. Interestingly, six small sculptures by Quellinus are recorded in the 1675 inventory of Gerrit Uylenburgh.46 It is not known when and from whom Uylenburgh acquired these works; perhaps he bought the statuettes from Quellinus himself....

1.2 Electors of the Palatinate

... n produced around 1520 for Charles V by Pieter Coecke van Aelst‘s workshop in Brussels.23 This monumental series of nine highly complex pieces could serve as a real education treatise for princes. The conveyed message can be summarized as follows: if a ruler practices the main virtues, he can overcome the vicissitudes of Fortune, escape Infamy and hope to receive three great moral principles: Glory, Nobility and Honour. Only the Prudence and another section of the tapestry, with Phoebus Apollo [8], have survived.24 Otto Henry’s woven coat of arms is featured at the centre of the upper border. But several elements make us doubt this was a commission, including the coat of arms on the border, because it was clearly executed at a later date. In any case, Otto Henry ordered a full-length portrait of his wife Susanna woven in Brussels in 1533 [9]. Two years later, its counterpart, his own portrait, was completed [10]. He also purchased the woven full-length portrait of his brother Philip, the count Palatine [11].25...

... his uncle, the Prince-Elector Frederick II, in Heidelberg. Grienmann had previously settled in Nuremberg, a city that had welcomed Pencz, who worked as a court painter, and a city where Flemish weavers came regularly to look for work.29 Grienmann was one of those newly established weavers. This hypothesis, according to which Grienmann produced a tapestry-series for Otto Henry, is attractive but it is not based on archival documents.In 1556, he was finally given the title of prince-elector, which enabled him immediately to purchase stupendous tapestries from the Southern Netherlands. He acquired scenes from the Old Testament to beautify his new Heidelberg residence. The last work he commissioned was in Brussels, namely a set of eight pieces featuring his family’s coat of arms. His death put an end to the project. The woven pieces were united in one tapestry showing Otto Henry in Prince Palatine attire.30...

2.2 Landscape, marine and architecture painting during Charles I

... ber of the same group of Flemish-Dutch landscape painters was Adriaen van Stalbemt (1580-1662), whose views of Greenwich were seen by Walpole in English collections [9].198 There is every reason to doubt whether all these artists really were in England. On the other hand, the considerable number of Flemish-Dutch landscapes which can still be seen in England today would indicate that various landscape artists did spend some time in the country. The view of the Thames at Greenwich in the Bruce S. Ingram Collection, which the owner attributes to Wenzel Hollar, also belongs to this group [10].199...

... asbourg; copies he made after Jan van de Velde II have survived from the time of his apprenticeship there [15].205 These confirm what can be deduced anyway from his many landscape drawings, namely that his style of drawing was largely moulded by the generation of naturalistic artists from Holland. The Earl of Arundel met him in Cologne in 1636, took him along on his travels and in 1637 went with him to England, where the artist remained – with the exception of an extended stay in Antwerp (1644-1652) – until his death.206 Hollar certainly played a major role as a communicator of the Dutch approach to art, particularly since he was also a very prolific draughtsman and etcher....

... 2].214 Indeed, it is not at all improbable that Porcellis was in England himself, since a ‘Jaquemyntjen Porcellis, jongedochter van London’ married an Antoni van Delden in Leiden in 1629.215 She was in all probability a daughter of the painter, given that a grandson of the artist was called Jan Porcellis van Delden.216 Various members of the Flessiers family were mentioned as being in England. Willem Flessiers (died 1670), Tobias Flessiers (1610-1689), Elisabeth Flessiers and Balthasar Flessiers II (c. 1605-1681?) were all in the country in 1637.217 Tobias seems to have been the marine painter referred to by Sanderson (Art of Painting, 1658) and Walpole. Charles I and Peter Lely owned some of his paintings while others were in the old collection in Ham House.218 Walpole also said that Flessiers painted still lifes and taught Marcellus Laroon I (c. 1648/9-1702), which is not out of the question, since the painter was still registered as being resident in London in Dutch certificates issued in 1663. We are not familiar with the seascapes by Gillis Schagen (1616-1668) referred to by Arnold Houbraken.219 It seems there were still no native English marine painters at this time.220...

... .225 Bartholomeus van Bassen similarly spent a lengthy period in England.226 Amongst other assignments, both these artists were required to paint ‘perspectives’ for portraits by Hendrick Pot (1580-1657), Daniël Mijtens I (1590-1647) and Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen I (1593-1661).227 A work by Gerard Houckgeest (1600-1661) (who must therefore have been in London) was said to have been ‘a prospective piece painted by Houckgest and the Queens picture therein done by Cornelius Jonson – the dress unfinished’ – a painting which has not come down to us [27].228...

... ed to see himself! However, the fame Torrentius enjoyed was attributable primarily to his still lifes, one such being praised by Lord Dorchester as early as 1629. Perhaps it is the same painting that now hangs in the Rijksmuseum and was once in Charles I’s collection [28]. Torrentius was not in England for any great length of time, though. In 1640/41 he was obliged to leave the country after his conduct there had given cause for considerable vexation.229...

3.2 Other Collectors

... iss II, Johannes Lingelbach [4], Adriaen Brouwer, Jan Both and others.26 Arundel presumably considered the Dutch paintings merely a decorative element in his collection. Once again a Dutchman was his ‘kunstbewaarder’ – Hendrik van der Borcht II (1614-1676), whom Arundel had taken into service in Frankfurt in the course of his journey and subsequently sent to Italy to be trained.27 Should this van der Borcht really be identical with Hendrik van der Burgh, the painter from Delft, as Valentiner surmises, then it is striking to say the least that his works reveal no trace whatsoever of any Italian training let alone a Flemish background.28...

... official position required them to remain in the Netherlands for a long time, always assuming they have not been sold and sca...

... diary. In 1642 he travelled to Holland after having had his portrait taken by ‘Vanderborcht servant of Arundel’ [= Hendrick van der Borcht II (1614-1666/7)] [15]. In Rotterdam he was astonished by the huge numbers of ‘landscapes and drolleries’ on offer at the market there. He bought some and sent them to England together with a ‘drollery by F. Covenbergh’, which he acquired a little later in The Hague.46 Those few examples bring us to the end of our brief overview. We can, therefore, now finally turn our attention to Willem van de Velde, one of the most successful Dutch artists in England....

1.2 Van Somer, Mijtens, van Mierevelt

... were the first characteristic, high-quality Dutch portraits of prominent English individuals.Mijtens made further progress down his chosen path and became the official successor to van Somer after the latter’s death. 1620 is the first year in which mention is made of any royal payments for portraits of James I and Prince Charles [5].28 In 1624 Mijtens was granted a pension, which greatly increased after the accession to the throne of Charles I, whose special favour the artist enjoyed. He produced no fewer than 15 portraits of the monarch,29 among which the fine example in the National Gallery in Ottawa and others in Copenhagen and the National Portrait Gallery deserve special mention [6-8]. Charles I conferred his royal favour on Mijtens right up to the artist’s death [9].30 A pension was paid to him in The Hague, whither he returned in 1634 after a successful career in England with numerous commissions....

... e could not ultimately compete (portrait of the first Countess of Middlesex in Knole in 1634) [11].31 In Holland, however, he returned to his natural style of painting. The portraits that he painted in 1643 of the burgomaster Thomas Cletscher and his wife Anna Hoeufft (Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, new acquisition, 1938) [12-13] are by no means the works of a follower of van Dyck....

... -16]. It should not be forgotten that many officers who served under the Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532-1588) in Holland gladly took the opportunity to have their portrait taken while they were there.38 In 1591, his nephew, Robert Sidney, subsequently 1st Earl of Leicester (1563-1626) sent a number of paintings from the Dutch Republic to England which ‘have cost a good deal of money’.39 Sir Dudley Carleton was an avid art lover who purchased works not only for Arundel and James I but also for himself. In 1616 he was in Haarlem, where he visited Cornelis van Haarlem, Hendrik Vroom and Hendrick Goltzius, who by that time was a very old man. In 1624 his wife had to travel to Vlissingen in poor weather to attend an art auction.40 Carleton’s predecessor as ambassador to The Hague, Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639) [17], was also an art lover who regularly sent pictures to England.41...

1.6 British portraiture

... and van Ravesteyn to mind (collection of Sir Bryan Godfrey-Fausett) [4].89 Hence there are obvious links with Holland in his work, even though the pale cold, watery surface finish is typically English. There is an astounding correspondence between the large kitchen still life attributed to him, which is also in Gorhambury [5], and similar paintings by Cornelis Jacobsz. Delff and Pieter Cornelisz van Rijck....

... by a successor to Cornelis Ketel.92 A portrait of James I (Earl of Verulam, Gorhambury) [8] resembles a formal work by Ravesteyn.93 The portraits of Hester and John Tradescant of 1645 (Oxford), which are attributed to Emmanuel DeCritz (1608-1665) are treated in a softer, more painterly manner in the Honthorst style [9-10]. Others approximate more closely to Marcus Gheeraerts II’s Flemish style.94...

... whose works is a successful portrait of Sir John Vaughan in the style of Mijtens, which once formed part of the Oxenden Collection [16],100 and a portrait of Robert Kerr, 1st Earl of Ancrum (1578-1654), which is in the possession of Lord Lothian [17]. A pair of portraits dated 1630, hitherto ascribed to Mijtens, was recently reattributed to this minor master [18-19].101...

... on a par with Michiel van Mierevelt [22] and Honthorst,105 and Samuel Cooper (1608-1672) went to Holland, where he must have studied the works of Gerard ter Borch and Caspar Netscher. A small male portrait that he painted, which is in Frits Lugt’s collection [23], might be taken for a work by Karel Slabbaert, were it not for the monogram.106 His brother, Alexander Cooper (1609-c. 1660), whom Sandrart called the ‘world famous Ceuper’,107 was in Amsterdam for a short time after entering the service of Queen Christina of Sweden....

... formerly attributed to Mijtens [29]. His portrait of Thomas Killigrew (collection of the Duke of Bedford) [30] has the soft, painterly modelling that is typical of the Dutch school. Dobson is less refined and more vigorous. Early portraits such as that of his wife (Sutton auction, London, 12 February 1926, no. 114) [31] and the portrait of Sir Thomas Browne and his family [32] (collection of the Duke of Devonshire) are reminiscent of de Critz.111 A portrait of Robert Phelips dated 1632 (auction in London, 29 November 1929, no. 38) [33] is still very much in the Dutch style.112 Van Dyck did not arrive in London until 1632. This explains why various works by these two artists from their early period ‘before van Dyck’ can be considered Dutch....

... Dutch predecessors and fellow artists in the sheer number of portraits that he painted in England, to say nothing of the many portraits by his studio, and the copies. Thus, it is not in the least surprising that his style largely dominated in subsequent years. That his influence did not last longer is mainly attributable to the unfavourable political situation that followed the execution of Charles I, which temporarily put an end to all interest in art at court. And van Dyck’s work was first and foremost court art....

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