Paulus Moreelse

Willem Vincent van Wyttenhorst (1613-1674), and listed in his inventory of 1651: "De vrouw van Raesvelt door Morelissen.  Is op ter Horst; Nu op Beweesunden;" (according to De Jonge, see Literature);
By inheritance with Horst and its contents to his daughter, Baroness van Wittenhorst (1672-1738), late Gräfin Frezin;
By inheritance with Horst and its contents to Baroness van Hochstedten;
Probably to Kasteel Geysteren, Limburg (adjacent to Horst);
Countesses E and H Galen, Münster, 1938;
Thence by descent.

C.H. de Jonge, Paulus Moreelse, Assen 1938, pp. 31, 96, cat. no. 109, reproduced fig. 98, also p. 102, no. 155.

The stable support, bevelled on all four edges, is made up of three vertical panels joined to the reverse by a series of horizontal batons. The paint surface is secure and generally in good condition under an old yellowed varnish, although somewhat abraded in the darker pigments, most notably in her hair and in the larger of the red rosettes. Some old discoloured retouchings are visible to the naked eye in the darks of the background and hair and along the panel joins. Whilst thorough inspection under UV light is impeded by the aforementioned varnish the details of her face and dress appear to be largely original. Offered in a painted wooden frame in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sitter is probably Bernardine van Bongaerdt (date of birth unknown), who in 1616 married Adolf Wenemar van Raesveldt.  Her husband died in 1627, so she is here depicted as a widow.  She lived until 1652.

She was the sister-in-law of the collector Willem Vincent van Wyttenhorst (1613-1674), but the portrait must have left her possession before her death.  One of his other titles was Lord of Horst, in Limburg (he died there), which is presumably why Horst is referred to in his inventory.  Wyttenhorst formed a distinguished collection of some 195 paintings, lauded in his day by the Utrecht painter Hendrick Bloemaert.  Apart from 16th Century "Old Masters," the majority of his pictures were by Utrecht painters active in his lifetime (the remainder being by contemporary artists in Haarlem), which would explain why he would want to own a work by Moreelse.  Some of his collection was auctioned in 1722, and a part of it, consisting of some 75 paintings passed to the Furstenberg family at Schloss Herdringen in Westphalia.¹  The present picture stayed at Horst until the first half of the 18th Century, and is believed to have passed with others to neighbouring Kasteel Geysteren.²  Pendant portraits of Willem Vincent van Wyttenhorst and his wife Wilhelmina van Bronckhorst by Bartholomeus van der Helst are still in a private collection at Geysteren (although not in the castle itself, which is a ruin).³

1. See M. Boers, `De schilderijenverzameling Willem Vincent van
Wyttenhorst'' in Oud Holland, vol. 117, no. 3-4, 2004, pp. 181-243.
2. According to a letter to an ancestor of the present owner dated 4 April 1950.
3. See Boers, op. cit., p. 232, both reproduced.