Gerrit van Honthorst (Utrecht 1592-1656)

Portrait of Ursula van Solms, half-length, in a black dress and feathered hat, her crucifix in her right hand

Details

Gerrit van Honthorst (Utrecht 1592-1656)
Portrait of Ursula van Solms, half-length, in a black dress and feathered hat, her crucifix in her right hand
oil on panel
29.3/8 x 23¼ in. (74.5 x 59 cm.)

Provenance

(Presumably) Princess Elizabeth, Electress Palatine, the Winter Queen of Bohemia (1596-1662), from whom passed either by direct gift or by eventual bequest from her son, Prince Rupert of the Rhine to
William, 1st Baron and Earl of Craven (1608-1697) and by descent to
William, 4th Earl of Craven, Combe Abbey, Warwickshire (1868-1921), by whom bequeathed to his wife
Cornelia, Countess of Craven (d. 1961); (+) sale, Sotheby's, London, 27 November 1968, lot 54 (sold £700).

Literature

W.J. Hoogsteder, De Schilderijen van Frederik en Elizabeth, Koning en Koningin van Bohemen, Doctoralscriptie, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, London and Utrecht, 1986, I, pp. 112; III, fig. 108.
J.R. Judson and R.E.O. Ekkart, Gerrit van Honthorst, 1592-1656, Doornspijk, 1999, p. 310, no. 458(I), pl. 347, as an autograph replica, with incorrect measurements.

Lot Essay

The sitter was the daughter of Johann Albrecht I von Solms-Braunfels, House Steward of the Winter King, and Agnes von Sayn-Wittgenstein; she was the sister of Amalia van Solms, who married Frederik Hendrik, Stadtholder of the United Provinces. In 1620 she married Christoffel zu Dohna (1583-1637), Governor of the Principality of Orange. The prototype for this portrait type is that in the Huis ten Bosch, one of a series that includes portraits of Elisabeth, Princess Palatine and Johanna von Hanau.

When in exile in The Hague, the 'Winter Queen' continued to add to her collection of portraits. This eventually passed to her loyal friend, William, 1st Earl of Craven, upon whose generosity she long depended. The collection was divided between his three houses, Hampstead Marshall and Ashdown in Berkshire, and Combe Abbey in Warwickshire.

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