Oil on panel, oval
69 x 57 cm. each
Art-historical texts and documentation by Rudi Ekkart and Claire van den Donk
The Hague painter Jan Anthonisz. van Ravesteyn was specialised in portraits and had an exceptionally successful practice during the first four decades of the seventeenth century. His production appears to have ceased after 1641. While his clientele included many prominent Hague figures, he also catered to civic regents from other Dutch cities who resided in The Hague for administrative matters. Van Ravesteyn received commissions from the court of the stadholders as well, though in these elite circles, he remained overshadowed by Michiel van Mierevelt and, later, Gerard van Honthorst. Like Van Mierevelt and Van Honthorst, he relied on the participation of workshop assistants for the execution of many of his paintings.
The two oval portraits of a young married couple, however, were most likely painted entirely – or at least predominantly – by Van Ravesteyn himself. The painterly style and the sitters’ attire suggest a dating for around 16351, placing the works among his later output. The woman’s portrait illustrates The Hague’s leading role in women’s fashion at the time. Her dark gown is adorned with colourful ribbons and bows, and her low décolleté – rarely seen in other North-Netherlandish cities during the mid-1630s – is a striking feature. Even in the Hague portraiture, this low neckline was uncommon.2
Brussels pendants of the same sitters
Interestingly, two portraits by Van Ravesteyn, now housed in the Brussels City Museum ‘Het Broodhuis’, likely depict the same couple and date from the same period.3 The renowned collector John Waterloo Wilson (1815-1883) presented the portrait pair to the museum to mark its founding in May of 1878. Although likeness is often a deceptive factor for the identification of portraits, the resemblance between the sitters is so strong that it is highly probable that they represent the same twosome. The Brussels pendants date from around the same period and may have been painted only a few years later. However, the sitters of the portraits in Brussels are depicted in completely different attire.
In contrast to the dark costumes of the oval portraits, the Brussels pieces present the sitters in lavish attire with much lighter colours. The man wears a light, satin doublet embellished with gold details and a mantle draped over his left arm. The woman is shown in a richly embroidered gown of light-blue and white, accessorised with matching bows and a floral corsage in her hair. Her gown features a décolleté as low as in the other portrait. The tonal difference in the hues reflects a slightly later phase in fashion, in which the remnants of the austere Calvinistic dress-code that had long characterised the North-Netherlandish portraiture during the first half of the seventeenth century had diminished.
Since the earlier history or provenance of both portrait pairs remain unknown, the identity of the sitters cannot be established. Nor is it clear why the couple chose to be portrayed twice in such a short time span, by the same artist but in such strikingly different clothing. Perhaps the oval portraits discussed here were commissioned as a gift for one of the sitters’ parents, while the Brussels pair was intended for the couple’s own collection.
A personal note from the gallery
‘We have discovered another portrait pair of this couple. They clearly enjoyed being painted. A lovely pair, and she especially loved dressing up in the latest fashion. I always have a soft spot for couple pendants, and these two are no exception. Pendant portraits were meant to be seen together, and it is rare for such pairs to survive intact. Owning them means preserving a story of love and status from the heart of The Hague’s society.’
Jaco Pieper, owner Argento Gallery
Provenance
Sale Munich (Hampel), March 21, 2024, lot nos. 466 and 467.
Notes
1. Compare, among others, the portraits of Nicolaes Pauw and his wife Anna van Lockhorst dating 1634 (the fi rst in a Dutch private collection and the second in the collection of the Louvre in Paris), the 1637 portraits of Bartholomeus de Kies van Wissen and his wife Eva van Kessel (Sale Amsterdam, Sotheby’s, May 10, 2005, lot 40); in these two portraits, a hand has also been depicted in the composition) and various portraits of unidentifi ed sitters from the same period.
2. A similar décolleté is also featured in the 1633 portrait of an unknown young woman (Sale Amsterdam, Frederik Muller, 25 April, 1911, lot 90).
3. Inv. nos. K1878/2 and 1878/3. The two portraits are erroneously attributed to Michiel van Mierevelt and are dated 1609 and 1607. They were given a place in the Duquesnoy cabinet of the Brussels City Museum. See also RKDimages nos. 301575 and 301576.
