1.1 Early ‘Dutch ’Portrait Painters
As the geographic distance of the Scandinavian countries from the Dutch Republic increases, so the influence of Dutch art decreases. We encounter fewer Dutch artists in Sweden than in Denmark. However, coincidence plays a role as well. Christian IV of Denmark (ruled 1588-1648) was a great admirer of Dutch art, whereas the taste of the Swedish Queen Christina (ruled 1632-1654, died 1689) ran more to Italianate-French pictures. Dutch portraitists were most likely to find work in Sweden; also Christina employed a few of them.
1
Cornelius Arendtz
Portrait of Abraham Leijonhufvud (1538-1618), 1610s
Uppsala (province), Skoklosters slott, inv./cat.nr. 3006
2
Johan Baptista van Uther
Portrait of Count Per Brahe the Elder (1520-1590), c. 1581
Uppsala (province), Skoklosters slott, inv./cat.nr. 1656
A few Dutch artists appear to have stayed in Sweden already in the 16th century.1 We may in any case assume that Cornelius Arendtz (active 1608-1655) and Johan Baptista van Uther (active 1562-1597) were of Dutch descent [1-2].2 From 1606 to 1608 Cornelis Claesz. Heda (c. 1566-after January 1619), who had been appointed Persian court painter in Prague, was detained against his will in Sweden along with a diplomatic mission.3 We do not know whether this mannerist artist painted anything during those years. Nor do we know whether any of the works of art which Jacques de Gheyn II (1656-1629) sent to Stockholm for approval in 1620 were kept by the court.4
The portraitist Laurens van der Plas (1579-1629) of Dordrecht moved to Stockholm in 1618, where he became royal portrait painter at 600 Swedish Thaler in 1621. His portraits of the royal family were probably lost to the 1697 conflagration in the castle. The gallery in Linköping still has his Self Portrait, whereas the Municipal Museum of The Hague preserves two portraits of his Dutch period [3-5].5 In Sweden, Laurens van der Plas represents the developmental stage of the portraiture of van Ravesteyn-Mierevelt, and we find reflections of his Dutch style in various anonymous portraits of the time.
The ‘colonial’ artists are mostly a little dryer, stiffer and more awkward, whether they are named Valentin Trauthman (c. 1580-1629) (portrait engraving of Gustav II Adolf of 1616] [6], Adam Seebach (active 1629-1664), who painted a lot for Gyllenhielm,6 or Arendt Lamprechtz (active 1585-1621).7
3
Laurens van der Plas
Self-portrait of Laurens van der Plas (1570-1629)
Linköping, Östergötlands Museum, inv./cat.nr. LM 103
4
Laurens van der Plas
Portrait of Jacob Stoop (1587-1661), dated 1615
The Hague, Kunstmuseum Den Haag
5
Laurens van der Plas
Portrait of Henrica Heymans, called Kolft (1591-1653), dated 1615
The Hague, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, inv./cat.nr. 80-30
6
Valentin Trauthman
Portrait of Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden (1594-1632), dated 1616
Stockholm, Nationalmuseum
Notes
1 [Gerson 1942/1983] Sjöberg 1913 and Hahr 1913.
2 [Gerson 1942/1983] Steneberg 1934A; see also Steneberg 1936, Steneberg 1934B and Steneberg 1935/1938. [Van Leeuwen/Roding 2024] The Netherlandish origin of Cornelis Arendtz is uncertain. He came with his father, Arendt Lamprechts (active 1585-1621) from Emden to Sweden in 1585. It is possible that Lamprechts (or his parents) migrated from the Netherlands to Germany. Given his name and the fact that many religious refugees fled from the Southern Netherlands to Emden, it is more likely that he or his family came from the Southern Netherlands, rather than from Northern Netherlands. Johan Baptista van Uther is also thought to have come from the Southern Netherlands; he is possibly identical with Baptista or Hansken U., who is recorded as a pupil of Wouter Key (active 1516-1549) in the Guild of St Luke of Antwerp in 1544 (Roosval et al. 1957-1967, vol. 5 [1967], p. 528-530).
3 [Gerson 1942/1983] Gerson 1942/1983, p. 541. [Van Leeuwen/Roding 2024] Late 1605 Heda left Prague in the retinue of the Persian envoy Zaynal Khan Shamlu to go to the Tasdomof Moscovy; in Pomenaria, they found the 'pass' blocked and went north to Stockholm, where the stayed for two years for the passage through Russia to clear; in May 1608 the ambassador decided to return to Europe (Hutten/Tucker 2014, p. 871-872).
4 [Gerson 1942/1983] Regteren Altena 1936, p. 16. [Van Leeuwen/Roding 2024] In 1620 Jacques de Gheyn III (1595-1641) travelled to Sweden to show King Gustav II Adolf eight works by his father, including drawings and paintings, dispatched in five crates. On 19 September 1620 the States General granted exemption from custom duty on any of the works brought back into the country. There is no record of the outcome of the expedition (Van Regteren Altena 1983, vol. 1, p. 134).
5 [Gerson 1942/1983] Cnattingius 1934, p. 65-74; Cnattingius 1937, p. 31-36; Knuttel 1935, p. 298: ‘Hollandsche schilder’ (=Dutch painter). [Van Leeuwen/Roding 2024]: Laurens van der Plas was born in Antwerp, the son of a soldier and engineer in Charles V's army. After his stay in Rotterdam, Breda and Dordrecht, he went to Sweden, where he was appointed as royal portrait painter in 1621. After 1623 van der Plas was no longer active as a painter. He became a merchant, mine and iron factory (bruk) owner (Axbergshammar bruk, Närke). For many new facts about Laurens van der Plas: Lundberg 2017.
6 [Van Leeuwen/Roding 2024] Gerson refers to Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm (1574-1650). However, no certain works of Seebach's production have been preserved and it is therefore not known whether his portraits were originals or copies after Jacob Hendrik Elbfas or other artists active at the time. The portrait of Gyllenhielm, now in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (RKDimages 250475) is currently attributed to Elbfas.
7 [Van Leeuwen/Roding 2024] See note 2 above.