Double portrait of two children in a landscape, a dog at their side

Details

JAN MIJTENS (C. 1614-1670)
Double portrait of two children in a landscape, a dog at their side
signed and dated 'Joan Mytens / 1655' (lower left)
oil on canvas
31 x 40 3/8 in. (78.7 x 102.1 cm.)

Provenance

Macalester Loup, The Hague; Frans Johannes Bosboom, The Hague, 20 August 1806, lot 109 (bt. Gram).
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), and by descent to the following,
Mrs. Edward Fisher, Welby Warren, Grantham; Sotheby's, London, 8 July 1930, lot 53 (124 gns. to Pyke).
with Arthur Tooth & Sons, 1933.
Robert Tritton (d.1957), Godmersham Park, Kent, by 1946, and by inheritance to the following,
Mrs. Robert Tritton, Godmersham Park, Kent; (†) Christie’s, London, 15 July 1983, lot 82.
with Richard Green, London, 1983, where purchased.

Literature

R. Edwards, Early Conversation Pictures from the Middle Ages to about 1730. A Study in Origins, London, 1954, pp. 88, 143, no. 30.
A. Peter, Überlegungen zur höllandischen Bildnis- und Genremalerei am Ende ihres 'Goldenen Zeitalters', PhD thesis, Justus-Liebig University, Gießen, 1996, p. 167.
A.N. Bauer, Jan Mijtens (1613/14-1670), Leben und Werk, Petersberg, 2006, pp. 258, 416, no. A135.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The eminent portraitist Jan Mijtens may have trained under two of his uncles, Daniel Mijtens the Elder (c.1590-c.1647) and Isaac Mijtens (c.1602-1666), both successful portrait painters in their own right. Daniel the Elder had worked for the court of Charles I in England, where he encountered Sir Anthony van Dyck who would later supersede him as leading court portraitist.

After his admission to The Hague’s Guild of Painters in 1639, Mijtens quickly established a successful career working for prominent citizens, members of the nobility and high-placed government officials from the Stadholder’s circle, and those loyal to the House of Orange-Nassau. Here Mijtens presents his subjects in typically vibrant colours and a playful yet elegant manner, particularly reminiscent of van Dyck's mature style.

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