Portrait of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1547-1619)

in or after c. 1616

Object data

oil on panel

support: height 62.5 cm × width 48.7 cm
outer size: depth 8.5 cm (support incl. frame)

Technical notes

The support consists of three vertically grained oak planks and is bevelled on all sides. The plank on the right, as seen from the front, must have been planed down during a repair, as a small portion of the collar is missing. Dendrochronology has shown that the youngest heartwood ring was formed in 1586. The panel could have been ready for use by 1597, but a date in or after 1603 is more likely. The support was prepared with a beige ground layer. Impasto was used for the highlights, and some brushmarking is visible in the face.

Scientific examination and reports

technical report: W. de Ridder, RMA, 12 October 2004
dendrochronology: P. Klein, RMA, 1 September 2005

Condition

Fair. There is a difference in level between the leftmost and central planks as seen from the front. The painting has two small cracks at upper left and bottom centre. There are small paint losses in the beard. The beard and hair are abraded and have discoloured retouchings. The hair has become transparent at the top of the head. The varnish is very discoloured.

Provenance

...; from the dealer C.S. Roos, fl. 400, as P. Moreelse, with three other paintings, to the museum, 30 August 1800¹

Object number: SK-A-257

The artist

Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt (Delft 1567 - Delft 1641)

According to Van Mander, Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt or Miereveld (he used both forms) was born in Delft on 1 May 1567. He was the son of the successful goldsmith Jan Michielsz van Mierevelt, and received his early training in Delft from two otherwise unknown artists, Willem Willemsz and a pupil of Antonie Blocklandt whom Van Mander simply calls Augustijn. Van Mierevelt became a pupil of Blocklandt’s in Utrecht, presumably in 1581 at the age of 14, for a period of two years and three months. From Blocklandt he learned to handle paint and became accomplished in the art of history painting. After his master’s death, Van Mierevelt returned to his native town, where he joined the painters’ guild in 1587 and served as warden in 1589-90 and 1611-12. He married twice, in 1589 and 1633.

Much to the regret of his father, Van Mierevelt abandoned history painting in favour of the more lucrative genre of portraiture, first adhering to the style of his fellow townsman Jacob Willemsz Delff. However, few of his early portraits have survived, even fewer of his history paintings, and none at all of the kitchen pieces reported by Van Mander. In general, Van Mierevelt’s portraits show great attention to detail and little compositional adventure. His later paintings, however, are more animated, loosely painted productions.

Van Mierevelt’s enormous output (Houbraken says 5,000 portraits, Von Sandrart 10,000) began in earnest with the 1607 commission from the Delft authorities to portray the stadholder, Prince Maurits.² In the same year, he became the official painter to the Stadholder’s Court in The Hague, a position he enjoyed for about a quarter of a century until Honthorst usurped it. In addition to his base clientele in The Hague and Delft, his workshop was regularly frequented by aristocrats and patricians from other Dutch and foreign cities. The large demand was met in part by Van Mierevelt’s assistants, who included his sons Pieter (1596-1623) and Jan (1604-33). The inventory of his shop reveals that he kept a supply of replicas of his most famous sitters on hand. His inventions were also disseminated through the reproductive engravings made by his son-in-law, Willem Jacobsz Delff (1580-1638). Van Mierevelt’s most important pupils were Paulus Moreelse (c. 1571-1638), Willem van der Vliet (c. 1584-1642), Daniel Mijtens (c. 1590-1647) and Anthonie Palamedesz (1601-73). Van Mierevelt died a wealthy man in 1641. His lucrative workshop was taken over by his grandson, Jacob Willemsz Delff (1619-61).

Jonathan Bikker, 2007

References
Van Mander 1604, fols. 281-82; Von Sandrart 1675 (1925), pp. 124, 171-72; Houbraken I, 1718, pp. 46-49; Obreen I, 1877-78, p. 4; Havard I, 1879, pp. 11-82; Obreen III, 1880-81, p. 263; Havard 1894; Bredius 1908 (documents); Gerson in Thieme/Becker XXIV, 1930, p. 539; Montias 1982, pp. 38, 370; Ekkart in Amsterdam 1993, pp. 310-11; Ekkart in Turner 1996, pp. 485-86

Entry

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt studied law at, among other places, Bourges, Cologne and Heidelberg. In 1569, he became an advocate at the Court of Holland in The Hague. After serving in various other positions, including Pensionary of Rotterdam, he was appointed to the most powerful legal office in the Republic in 1586, that of Advocate of the States of Holland. In this capacity, he played a central role in the government of the northern Netherlands and the revolt against Spain. For example, Van Oldenbarnevelt was instrumental in Maurits’s appointment as Stadholder of Gelderland, Utrecht and Overijssel in 1590, and the creation of the alliance between the Dutch Republic, England and France in 1593. On the question of churchstate relations he sided with the Arminians and came into conflict with Prince Maurits over the issue of local militias. These conflicts led to Van Oldenbarnevelt’s incarceration in 1618 and his execution on 13 May 1619 at the Binnenhof in The Hague.³

This is one of a number of bust-length studio replicas after a lost prototype by Van Mierevelt. Another bust-length copy in the Louvre is dated 1617.⁴ The prototype, however, was probably executed in or before 1616, as some of the replicas, including a knee-length one, bear the date 1616.⁵ The prototype probably also showed Van Oldenbarnevelt at knee-length. Although none of the replicas are signed, the inscription on Willem Jacobsz Delff’s 1617 engraving⁶ states that Van Mierevelt painted the original. Van Oldenbarnevelt is shown wearing a tabbaard, a garment that was closely associated with him and his faction.⁷ From eye-witness accounts, it seems likely that he was wearing this very garment when he was put to death.⁸

Jonathan Bikker, 2007

See Bibliography and Rijksmuseum painting catalogues
See Key to abbreviations and Acknowledgements

This entry was published in J. Bikker (ed.), Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, I: Artists Born between 1570 and 1600, coll. cat. Amsterdam 2007, no. 193.

Literature

Van Kretschmar 1966, p. 73, no. 14 (as Van Mierevelt); Stevens in Amsterdam 2000a, pp. 185, 187, no. 24 (as Van Mierevelt)

Collection catalogues

1801, p. 47, no. 11 (as Paulus Moreelse); 1809, p. 46, no. 193 (as Van Mierevelt); 1843, p. 40, no. 199 (as Van Mierevelt; ‘the oak showing through very prominently’); 1853, p. 18, no. 177 (as Van Mierevelt; fl. 150); 1858, p. 89, no. 196 (as Van Mierevelt); 1880, p. 206, no. 222 (as Van Mierevelt); 1887, p. 110, no. 925 (as Van Mierevelt); 1903, p. 175, no. 1587 (as Van Mierevelt); 1934, p. 187, no. 1587 (as Van Mierevelt); 1960, p. 206, no. 1587 (as Van Mierevelt); 1976, p. 385, no. A 257; 2007, no. 193

Citation

J. Bikker, 2007, 'workshop of Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, Portrait of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1547-1619), in or after c. 1616', in J. Bikker (ed.), Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.6739

(accessed 22 November 2024 17:18:28).