RKD STUDIES

Reference was made earlier to Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), who began his celebrated career as a portraitist in England in 1632, but it should not be forgotten that Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) also made an impact on artistic life at the court of Charles I. The association between the artist and the court appears to have been arranged by George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628),¹ who purchased Rubens’ collection of sculptures, gems and numerous paintings in 1625 for the sum of 100,000 guilders. Buckingham also commissioned Rubens to paint his portrait. This splendid work arrived back in England in the late 17th century and has been there ever since (collection of the Earl of Jersey) [1].² A few years later, in 1629, Rubens was in London on a diplomatic mission – Buckingham had been assassinated in the meantime – and Charles I took the opportunity to order from him nine large ceiling paintings for the Banqueting House in Whitehall [2]. These were completed in 1635 at a cost of three thousand pounds.³ Charles certainly knew what a royal painter was worth!

Compared with these works the achievements of the Dutch court painters were naturally of less artistic significance. Thus far we have referred to only the most prominent among them and so, in order to complete the picture, mention must also be made of a number of talented minor artists. At the end of the 16th century a certain Sampson Strong (c. 1549-1611) began work as a portraitist in Oxford, where a number of his paintings are still to be found [3-4].⁴ Better known is Georg Geldorp (c.1590/5-1665) from Cologne who occupied a fairly prestigious position under Charles I. However, in terms of his art and background he can be classed more as a Fleming. He made friends in London with van Dyck and Rubens, from whom he ordered the Crucifixion of Saint Peter [5] for one of the churches in Cologne at the behest of Eberhard Jabach IV (1618-1695) in 1637.⁵ Joachim von Sandrart was also among Geldorp’s acquaintances.⁶

In a poem dedicated to Hendrick Goltzius (1618) Balthazar Gerbier d'Ouvilly (1591-1663), who was familiar with the situation in London, mentioned two Dutch portraitists active in England: Abraham Blijenberch (died 1624) and Dirk Boissens. Both are now completely forgotten.⁷ Pieter Soutman and Jans Jansz. Westerbaen painted or drew portraits of Charles, although these were probably based on works by other artists.⁸ David Baudringien (c. 1581-1650) was among the Bohemian court painters in Rhenen. A small picture of the prematurely deceased Prince Frederik Hendrik, the eldest son of the Winter King, has survived (collection of G. H. Anson) [6].⁹ Painted in the style of Daniel Mijtens, it was once in the collection of Charles I. We can deduce from his lost portrait of Charles I that Baudringien must also have been active at his court. As was the case with Gerard van Honthorst, this portrait was probably made at the behest of the Queen of Bohemia, from whom he received commissions.¹⁰ Finally, it should not be forgotten that various Netherlandish engravers, in particular Crispin, Simon (c. 1595-1647) and Willem de Passe (c. 1597/8-1636/7), were active in England.¹¹ Simon de Passe also taught an English pupil by the name of John Payne (c. 1600-1639/42).

1
Peter Paul Rubens
George Villiers (1592-1628), 1rst Duke of Buckingham, on horseback, 1625-1627
Oxford (England), Collection Earl of Jersey Osterley Park

2
Peter Paul Rubens
The Glorification of King James I (the complete series at Banqueting Hall), c. 1633-1634
Whitehall (Westminster), Banqueting House

The growth of Dutch portraiture in England, which had begun with Daniel Mijtens, was deprived of the fruit of its labours by the success of Anthony van Dyck. Instead of building on the work of Mijtens, the younger generation of Dutch artists succumbed to the lure of the talented Fleming’s felicitous art. An artist like Adriaen Hanneman (c. 1604-1671) who came from the van Ravesteyn school and had worked in London under Mijtens’ guidance since around 1623, fell all too quickly and completely under van Dyck’s spell [7].¹² David Beck (1621-1656) from Delft (or Arnhem)¹³ was still a young man when he arrived in London and joined the ranks of van Dyck’s students. He was very popular at court and taught the king’s children.¹⁴ He was not as van Dyck-like as might have been expected of one of his pupils. His painting style ranges from that of van Ravesteyn to Nicolaes Maes. In 1639 Gerard Pietersz van Zijl (c. 1607/8-1665) was also apprenticed to van Dyck. Like David Beck he left London soon after the death of his master. David Beck went to Sweden while van Zijl remained in Amsterdam. He did not make any significant contribution to the dissemination of Dutch art abroad. On the contrary, both artists helped to make van Dyck’s late style known on the Continent. It is with this in mind that we should assess the impact of Jan Lievens (1607-1674). Between 1632 and 1635 Lievens was in London where he is said to have painted portraits of Charles I and other members of the nobility.¹⁵ Although no paintings from his years in England have survived [8-9],¹⁶ it must be assumed that he quickly shed the brash style of his youth after his arrival. In 1635, he went to Antwerp and the first paintings that he made there show that he had made a careful study of van Dyck’s works in London.¹⁷

7
Jan Lievens
Portrait of King Charles I of England (1600-1649), 1632-1635
Turin, Biblioteca Reale di Torino, inv./cat.nr. D.C. 16365 - Biblioteca Reale