Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt

Acquired by the grandfather of the present owner before the 1950s.

Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, on loan each summer, 1955-1990.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This large pair of portraits on panel is very well preserved. Both pictures are painted on three sections of wood joined vertically on either side of both heads. The reverse of the panels have been cradled and the paint layers are stable, as are the joins. The portrait of Margaretha van Clootwijk shows a very healthy paint layer in the lace, the ruff, the hands and the face. It is likely that there are restorations here and there, but they are not visible under ultraviolet light and the very slightly worn effect on the tip of her nose is the least one can expect from a picture of this period. Under a very yellow older varnish, there may be a slightly creamy pigment applied to the nose and the forehead, which presumably could easily be removed. In the background there do not seem to be any significant retouches. Generally the condition is very good and properly cleaning this picture will be very advantageous. The portrait of Jacob van Dalen also seems to show some of this slightly yellowed repaint between the eyes and on the left side of the sitter's face. This retouching is cosmetically driven for the most part and could be removed. A healthy paint layer is visible throughout the picture. The dirt baffles the ultraviolet light in both paintings and no retouches are visible. However, it is likely that the panel joins in both pictures have attracted some restoration. In the portrait of the man there are some dull patches in the background, in the upper portion to the right and left of the head and in the lower portion of the coat on the right side, which most likely correspond to restoration. None of this should discourage a prospective buyer from properly cleaning the picture.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

These late portraits by van Mierevelt are three-quarter length versions of a pair of half-length depictions of the same sitters in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.¹ The Metropolitan's portraits are signed and dated 1640 (Portrait of Jacob van Dalen) and 1639 (Portrait of Margaretha van Clootwijk) and bear the same family crests.   A 1641 inventory of van Mierevelt's estate refers to "four large and two small portraits" of Jacob van Dalen and his wife that he was to receive and that still remained in the artist's house.²  The half-length pair in the Metropolitan's collection must be those referred to in the inventory as the "small portraits", while the present pair must be two of the four "large portraits."  The location of the other pair of larger portraits is presently unknown.³

Though both versions of the Portrait of Jacob van Dalen are dated 1640, the Metropolitan's version is inscribed with his age as 69 rather than 70, as is inscribed on the present version.  Van Dalen was born on November 21, 1570, thus allowing us to pinpoint the completion of the present version of his portrait to sometime in the last six weeks of the year 1640 and, presumably, after the version in the Metropolitan.

Jacob van Dalen was born in Speyer Germany and studied medicine at the University of Leiden from 1589-1593.  He was the personal physician of the Dutch Stadholders Prince Maurits (1567-1625) and Prince Frederick Hendrick (1584-1647).  He settled in Delft, where he died on February 14, 1644.  Margaretha van Clootwijk was his second wife.  Both are buried in the Oude Kerk, Delft.  Van Dalen is also depicted in a group portrait by van Mierevelt and his son Pieter, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Willem van der Meer, painted twenty three years earlier.⁴

 

 

1.  Portrait of Jacob van Dalen, signed, dated and inscribed middle left: AEtatis. 69/A.o 1640/M. Miereveld, oil on panel, 27 ½ by 23 in.; 69.9 by 58.4 cm (inv. no. 25.110.13); Portrait of Margaretha van Clootwijk, signed, dated and inscribed middle right: AEtatis. 56/A.o 1639/M. Miereveld, oil on panel, 27 3/4 by 22 7/8 in.; 70.5 by 58.1 cm. (inv. no. 25.110.12).
2.  In the inventory, van Dalen is referred to as "Dr. Vallensis," the Latinized form his name and how he was professionally known.
3.  See W. Liedtke, Dutch Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2007, Vol. I, p. 476, under cat. no. 121; and A. Bredius, "Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt, een nalezing," in Oud Holland 26, 1908, p. 8.
4.  In the Gemeente Musea Delft; Collection Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof.