Michiel van Mierevelt
Delft, 1566 – Delft, 1641
Portrait of Jacob Huygensz. van der Dussen (ca. 1553-1622), three-quarter length, wearing medal commemoration the Battle of Nieuwpoort
Inscribed ‘Aetatis 63’ and ‘Ao 1616.’, upper left
Oil on panel
H. 113 cm. W. 84,5 cm.
PROVENANCE
Collection Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris, by 1896 as by Michiel van Mierevelt (the reverse of the pane is affixed with the Sedelmeyer wax seal);
Collection John Motley Morehead, Rye, New York;
Anonymous sale Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, 30 April 1965, as lot 128;
from whom purchased by the 'Property of a Main Line Philadelphia Estate';
Anonymous sale Sotheby's, New York, 5 April 1990, as lot 20 as by Michiel van Mierevelt;
from whom purchased by a Private Collection, Toronto
LITERATURE
Sedelmeyer, Charles (1896). Illustrated Catalogue of the Third Series of 100 Paintings by Old Masters. Paris, pp. 32-33, cat. no. 23, illustrated
This imposting portrait by the Delft master Michiel van Mierevelt (1566 – 1641) depicts Jacob Huygensz. van der Dussen (ca. 1553 – 1622), who was Mayor of Delft and one of the three Deputies in the Field (or ‘Gedeputeerde ter Velde’) at the Battle of Nieuwpoort as representatives of the States General. This important military conflict was fought on 2 July 1600 in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. The Anglo-Dutch companies met the Spanish veterans head on which, although their left flank nearly broke, were able to assail them with both infantry and cavalry. The Spanish gradually scattered in all directions and left their guns on the field.
The medal which Van de Dussen wears, issued in commemoration of the Siege of Nieuwpoort, was designed by Gerard van Bylaer (1573 – 1617), after a drawing by Jacob de Gheyn II (ca. 1565 – 1629). It depicts Prince Maurice of Orange on horseback with his sword raised, who rides across fallen enemy soldiers. It reads: ‘CAPTIS CXXX MI¬LIT : SIGNIS : ORD : AVSP : PRINCEPS MAVR : VICTOR : REDIIT’, which translate to: ‘one hundred and thirty flaggs conquered under the authority of the States, Prince Maurits returned victorious’. Van der Dussen and the other two Deputies, Grand Pensionary Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and De Huybert, were awarded a medal in gold by the States General.
