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Lot Essay
Son of the Elector, Frederick IV, the sitter was born in Amberg. The son-in-law of King James I and the grandson of William, Prince of Orange, Frederick was Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, and Elector Palatine. In 1613 he married Princess Elizabeth, the only daughter of King James I, and six years later was offered the crown of Bohemia. In the wars which ensued Frederick was driven out and deposed as a consequence of his acceptance of the crown of Bohemia, after only one winter. This earned him the soubriquet 'The Winter King' and after ten years in exile he died at The Hague.
Honthorst painted several portraits of Frederich V of Bohemia, of which there are a relatively large number of versions and replicas. For a full discussion, see J.R. Judson and R.E.O. Ekkart, Gerrit van Honthorst 1592-1656, London, 1999, pp. 254-261.
Honthorst painted several portraits of Frederich V of Bohemia, of which there are a relatively large number of versions and replicas. For a full discussion, see J.R. Judson and R.E.O. Ekkart, Gerrit van Honthorst 1592-1656, London, 1999, pp. 254-261.