| Triumph of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jacob Jordaens |
| Year | 1652 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Movement | Baroque |
| Dimensions | 728 cm× 755 cm(287 in× 297 in) |
| Location | Oranjezaal in the Huis ten Bosch, The Hague |
Triumph of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange is a painting by the Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens, signed and dated at the bottom left "J JOR fec / 1652". It is located in the Oranjezaal in the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, The Netherlands. [1]
The Huis ten Bosch, now a Dutch royal residence, was built on a site near The Hague given to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange in 1645 by the Dutch Republic. [2] In 1647, before it was completed, Frederick Henry died and his devoted widow Amalia of Solms-Braunfels designed to make substantial changes to the design, turning it into a memorial to her late husband. [3]
The Huis ten Bosch's main hall, the Oranjezaal , was decorated with a vast cycle of paintings celebrating the deeds and virtues of Frederick Henry. [3] The idea for creating such a room dedicated to praising a national leader was taken from Peter Paul Rubens' Marie de' Medici cycle in Paris and the allegorical ceiling paintings of James I of England in the Banqueting House in London. [2] Various painters, from both the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. were commissioned to create paintings for the cycle. Triumph was the culmination of the cycle. Jordaens had already been patronised by Princess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and created the Allegory of Time for the same room in 1650. After the death of both Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, Jordaens was now the leading painter of the Spanish Netherlands. [2]
Amalia took on her husband's former secretary Constantijn Huygens and the architect Jacob van Campen to supervise the painting of the Oranjezaal cycle. Letters survive from Jordaens to Huygens, showing that Van Campen sent a plan of the room to the painter and that he proposed a number of modifications to his original idea. Three oil sketches for the ceiling by Jordaens also survive, probably produced for Amalia's and Van Campen's approval. [4] None of the sketches totally matches the final painting, probably showing that not all of the painter's proposals were approved. [4] Another letter survives from Jordaens to Amalia, explaining the allegorical meanings of the finished work. [5]
Given the large number of similarities between the two works' iconography, Jordaens' probable model was a print by Salomon Savery after a drawing by David Vinckboons. This drawing was an allegory of Frederick Henry's triumphal entry into the Hague after the victories of Wesel and 's-Hertogenbosch, his two great successes in the Eighty Years' War. [4]
In Jordaens' work, Frederick Henry is shown wearing armour and a deep red cloak (reminiscent of ancient Roman triumphal dress) seated on a throne in a triumphal chariot. A golden sculpture of Victory behind him holds two crowns, placing the one in her right hand on Frederick Henry's head and holding the other towards Frederick Henry's son William II of Orange, shown as a young horseman in the bottom right. The nude Hymen behind William crowns him with a golden garland surmounted by a crown - within that wreath are two joined hands, symbolising William's marriage to Charles I's daughter Mary.
Frederick Henry's chariot is drawn by four white horses with golden harness. A male figure wearing only a pseudo-Turkish dress rides one of them, holding a cornucopia of fruits and ears of grain, a symbol of abundance. Beside the horses Minerva (left) and Mercury (right, in a winged hat and sandals) act as grooms and symbolise Frederick Henry's virtues of wisdom, martial virtue and cunning. Under their hooves the horses trample two terrible serpents (Discord) and a figure biting a heart (Envy). Two lions in front of the horses symbolise bravery and courage, whilst four of the Muses to the far left symbolise the four provinces of the Dutch Republic.
In the background is a triumphal arch flanked by two golden statues on pedestals, representing Frederick Henry's father William the Silent and his half-brother Maurice of Nassau (right), who both preceded him as Stadtholder. People gather around the statues to watch the triumphal procession. Above the horses a winged figure with a trumpet (Fame) beats back a skeleton, whilst higher still a woman in a white robe holds palm branches in both hands. She is surrounded by putti unrolling a long scroll inscribed ULTIMUS ANTE OMNES DE PARTA PACE TRIUMPHUS (Fairest above all triumphs is that through which peace is gained), shown by a letter in the National Library of the Netherlands to have been invented by Huygens. [6] This refers to the Peace of Munster, the section of the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 which guaranteed the Dutch Republic's independence and abandoned all Spanish claims to its lands. [4] Frederick died before the Treaty but his military victories had decisively paved the way for it. Several other putti at the very top of the painting hold a long festoon full of fruit, whilst others tip another cornucopia of coins and jewelry over Frederick Henry, symbolising riches and prosperity.
Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem, was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens.
Paulus Potter was a Dutch painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point.
Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and a designer of tapestries and prints. He was a prolific artist who created biblical, mythological, and allegorical compositions, genre scenes, landscapes, illustrations of Flemish sayings and portraits. After the death of Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he became the leading Flemish Baroque painter of his time. Unlike those illustrious contemporaries he never travelled abroad to study the Antique and Italian painting and, except for a few short trips to locations elsewhere in the Low Countries, he resided in Antwerp his entire life. He also remained largely indifferent to Rubens and van Dyck's intellectual and courtly aspirations. This attitude was expressed in his art through a lack of idealistic treatment which contrasted with that of these contemporaries.
Frederick Henry was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his death on 14 March 1647. In the last seven years of his life, he was also the stadtholder of Groningen (1640-1647).
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels was Princess of Orange by marriage to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. She acted as the political adviser of her spouse during his reign, and acted as his de facto deputy and regent during his infirmity from 1640 to 1647. She also served as chair of the regency council during the minority of her grandson William III, Prince of Orange from 1650 until 1672.
Noordeinde Palace is one of three official palaces of the Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima since 2013. The Noordeinde Palace and its surrounding palace grounds are property of the Dutch State.
Huis ten Bosch is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam.
Jacob van Campen was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age.
Gonzales Coques was a Flemish painter of portraits and history paintings. Because of his artistic proximity to and emulation with Anthony van Dyck he received the nickname de kleine van Dyck. Coques was also active as an art dealer.
Honselersdijk is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is home to the historic Huis Honselaarsdijk, former palatial estate of the Dutch Princes of Orange. Huis Honselaarsdijk was one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture and grounds in the history of The Netherlands. Today, only part of the outbuildings remain, and these are referred to locally as "De Nederhof".
Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert was a Dutch Republic-born Flemish Baroque painter.
Hofwijck is a mansion built for 17th-century politician Constantijn Huygens. It is located in Voorburg on the Vliet canal from The Hague to Leiden. Formal address of the cultural heritage is 2 Westeinde, Voorburg, the Netherlands, but its location today is better known as the Voorburg railway station.
Adriaen van Utrecht was a Flemish painter known mainly for his sumptuous banquet still lifes, game and fruit still lifes, fruit garlands, market and kitchen scenes and depictions of live poultry in farmyards. His paintings, especially the hunting and game pieces, show the influence of Frans Snyders. The two artists are considered the main inventors of the genre of the pronkstillevens, i.e. still lifes that emphasized abundance by depicting a diversity of objects, fruits, flowers and dead game, often together with living people and animals. Van Utrecht also painted a number of flower still lifes. He was a regular collaborator with leading Antwerp painters who had been pupils or assistants of Peter Paul Rubens, such as Jacob Jordaens, David Teniers the Younger, Erasmus Quellinus II, Gerard Seghers, Theodoor Rombouts, Abraham van Diepenbeeck and Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert.
Pieter Jansz Post was a Dutch Golden Age architect, painter and printmaker.
Adriaen Hanneman was a Dutch Golden Age painter best known for his portraits of the exiled British royal court. His style was strongly influenced by his contemporary, Anthony van Dyck.
Theodoor van Thulden was a painter, draughtsman and engraver from 's-Hertogenbosch. He is mainly known for his altarpieces, mythological subjects, allegorical works and portraits. He was active in Antwerp, where he had trained, as well as in Paris and his native 's-Hertogenbosch.
Huis Honselaarsdijk is a former palace and country residence of the Dutch Stadtholders and princes of Orange which lies about 2.6 km southwest of the border of The Hague, the Netherlands. It was one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in The Netherlands. Today, only part of the outbuildings remain and are known locally as De Nederhof.
Henriette Catherine of Nassau was princess consort of Anhalt-Dessau by marriage to John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, and regent of Anhalt-Dessau from 1693 to 1698 during the minority of her son Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau.
Leendert van der Cooghen was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and printmaker. An amateur artist of independent means, he left a small oeuvre of which his drawings represent the major portion. Recognised by his fellow artists, he was admitted to the Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke in 1652.
The Oranjezaal refers to a painted ballroom in the royal palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. It was once, together with its neighboring Chinese room, part of the first national museum of the Netherlands founded in 1800 called the Nationale Konst-Gallery. The supervisor Cornelis Sebille Roos appointed Jan Gerard Waldorp as the first custodian and curator to receive visitors and explain the collection.
Media related to The Triumph of Frederick of Orange by Jacob Jordaens at Wikimedia Commons