HENDRIK DE CORT (ANTWERP 1742-1810 LONDON)

Hever Castle in Kent is perhaps best-known for its Tudor history, as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn and later, a residence of Anne of Cleves. A building existed on the site from around the 13th century. It was acquired by the Boleyn family in 1462 and passed by descent around 1504 to Thomas Boleyn, Anne’s father. It became her childhood home until she was sent to the Low Countries to be a maid of honour to Margaret of Austria in 1513. Following the death of Thomas Boleyn, the estate passed to Henry VIII, who bequeathed it to Anne of Cleves in 1540 as part of a substantial settlement upon the annulment of their marriage.

This view shows the east and north facades before the collapse and subsequent rebuilding of the north-east corner in the late 19th century, and the implementation of the window tax, which affected the long gallery windows on the upper register. In 1903, William Waldorf Astor purchased Hever and made several substantial changes, including the addition of the so-called ‘Astor Wing’ to the North, and a covered bridge across the moat. The present work shows the exterior before these additions.

Hendrik de Cort was born in Antwerp, where he studied under Hendrik Josef Antonissen and joined the Guild of Saint Luke. From 1776-1781 de Cort moved to Paris and was received into the Académie Royale and appointed Painter to the Prince de Condé. On his return to Antwerp, the artist co-founded an art society known as the Konstmaatschappij, but moved to London around 1790, where he remained until his death in 1810. De Cort enjoyed particular success amongst aristocratic patrons, establishing himself as a painter of country houses, castles, cathedrals and other views. It was his practice to paint on mahogany panel, its smooth surface suiting his carefully descriptive realism, redolent of the Netherlandish tradition.