Henry, Duke of Gloucester

c. 1653

Adriaen Hanneman

Painter, Dutch, c. 1603/1604 - 1671

Shown from the hips up, a boy with pale, peachy skin and copper-brown hair stands in front of a rocky outcropping with a narrow view into a distant landscape to our left in this vertical portrait painting. His body faces our left almost in profile, and he turns his face to look at us with dark brown eyes under faint brows. He has a long, straight nose, a pointed chin, flushed cheeks, and his full, rose-pink lips are slightly parted. His dark hair falls in waves to the wide, flat, white collar at his neck. He wears a golden yellow doublet brocaded with shimmering threads, possibly silver and gold. The sleeves split along the inner arm to reveal a white shirt with voluminous, puffy sleeves that end with wide, transparent cuffs like floppy saucers around each wrist. Over the jacket, he wears a gleaming, pewter-colored breastplate with a topaz-blue sash crossing his chest. His peanut-brown pants are also sewn or woven with metallic thread in stripes down the side of the leg. The boy rests his right hand, farther from us, on a staff or walking stick propped in front of him. His other hand rests around the gold hilt of a rapier, a thin sword at his left hip, closer to us. Behind the boy, the view is almost entirely taken up with a slate-gray boulder, or it could be the entrance of a cave. A view onto the landscape along the left edge of the composition has a few treetops beneath pale yellow clouds against an ice-blue sky.

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In this three-quarter-length portrait, Henry, Duke of Gloucester, confidently counters the viewer’s scrutiny. He wears a gleaming breastplate that covers a richly brocaded gold doublet with split sleeves; his right hand rests on a staff while his left hand covers the hilt of a gold-topped rapier. Identified on the basis of an inscription on a bust-length copy after this painting, Henry (1640–1660) was the third son of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. After virtual imprisonment during England’s civil war and Protectorate, Henry was permitted to join his older sister Maria Stuart and her husband, Willem II, Prince of Orange, in The Hague in 1652. The next year, Henry was invested as a Knight in the Order of the Garter, and that festive occasion likely led to the commission of this portrait by Adriaen Hanneman. The commanding pose of young Henry was probably chosen to stress the legitimacy and continuity of the Stuart dynasty despite the fact that Charles II, Henry’s brother, was in exile in Paris. At the Restoration in 1660, Henry accompanied Charles II back to England; he contracted smallpox soon thereafter and died that same year.

Hanneman worked at the English court between 1626 and 1638, and his portrait style echoed that of the celebrated court-artist Anthony van Dyck. Upon his return to The Hague, Hanneman became the favorite of the Dutch and exiled English aristocracy in the court circles around Maria Stuart and the Prince of Orange.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 43

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 104.8 x 87 cm (41 1/4 x 34 1/4 in.)
    framed: 128.91 x 111.13 x 11.43 cm (50 3/4 x 43 3/4 x 4 1/2 in.)

  • Accession

    1937.1.51

More About this Artwork

Scholarly Article:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century: Henry, Duke of Gloucester, c. 1653

This horizontal painting shows a group of eight light-skinned musicians and onlookers gathered closely around a rectangular, carpet-covered table. The front edge of the table runs parallel to the bottom edge of the painting, and seems close to us. Shown from about the waist up, the men and women’s vivid lapis-blue, coral-red, buttercup-yellow, lilac-purple, and moss-green garments fall in crisp folds. Bright reflections on the fabric suggest a satin-like material. Two women wear feathers in their hair and one man’s hat is plumed. One man, wearing crimson red and black, sits with his back to us to our left on the near side of the table. He holds the neck of a bass viol, about the size of a cello, with his left hand, and points to pages of an open music book with the bow in his right hand. The other people cluster on the far side of the table. A man to the left plays a violin; a woman at the center plays a guitar-sized bandora, and a woman to our right plays a lute. The musicians, along with a man who leans over the table from between the two women, look down at the music books. A young man behind the woman at the center holds up a glass of pale liquid with his right hand as he touches his left forefinger to his smiling lips. A man and woman stand close together in the background to our right, in the top right corner of the canvas.

Scholarly Series:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Count Heinrich von Brühl [1700-1763], Dresden; his heirs, until 1769; Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], Saint Petersburg; Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg; purchased November 1930, as a painting by Sir Anthony van Dyck, through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2003

  • Dutch and Flemish Treasures from the National Gallery of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, 2003, no catalogue.

2007

  • Dutch Portraits: The Age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals, The National Gallery, London; Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague, 2007-2008, no. 28, repro.

Bibliography

1753

  • Descamps, Jean Baptiste. La vie des peintres flamands, allemands et hollandais. 4 vols. Paris, 1753-1763: 2(1754):187.

1773

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.] "Catalogue raisonné des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Galeries, Sallons et Cabinets du Palais Impérial de S. Pétersbourg, commencé en 1773 et continué jusqu’en 1785.” 3 vols. Manuscript, Fund 1, Opis’ VI-A, delo 85, Hermitage Archives, Saint Petersburg,1773-1783 (vols. 1-2), 1785 (vol. 3).

1774

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.]. Catalogue des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Cabinets du Palais Impérial à Saint-Pétersbourg. Based on the 1773 manuscript catalogue. Saint Petersburg, 1774: possibly no. 79, as Le portrait du prince d'Orange by Van Dyck.

1805

  • Labenskii, Frants Ivanovich. Galerie de l'Hermitage. 2 vols. Saint Petersburg, 1805: 2:73-74, 79-80, no. 73, repro.

1829

  • Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829-1842: 3(1831):203, no. 712.

1838

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum. Livret de la Galérie Impériale de l’Ermitage de Saint Petersbourg. Saint Petersburg, 1838: 366, no. 25.

1863

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial, Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. Saint Petersburg, 1863: 134, no. 611.

1864

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Die Gemäldesammlung in der kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St. Petersburg nebst Bemerkungen über andere dortige Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 1864: 150-151, no. 611.

1870

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1870: 2:70-71, no. 611.

1890

  • Reber, Franz von., and A.D. Bayersdorfer. Klassischer Bilderschatz. 2 vols. Munich, 1890: 2:xix, no. 233, repro.

1895

  • Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1895: 2:65, no. 611, repro.

1896

  • Conway, William Martin. The Hermitage. London, 1896: 6, no. 611, repro.

1897

  • Moes, Ernst Wilhelm. Iconographia Batava. 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1897–1905: 2(1905):606.

1900

  • Phillips, Claude. "The Imperial Gallery of the Hermitage, III." The North American Review 170 (January 1900): 140.

  • Cust, Sir Lionel. Anthony van Dyck: An Historical Study of His Life and Works. London, 1900: 154.

  • Oranje-Nassau galerij: Prachtalbum van portretten en platen. Nijmegen and Arnhem, 1900: 3, 38, repro.

1901

  • Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 4th ed. Saint Petersburg, 1901: 2:73-74, repro.

1904

  • Conway, William Martin, and Wilhelm von Bode. Meesterwerken der Schilderkunst tot het Jaar 1800. Amsterdam, 1904: pl. 7.

1906

  • Wurzbach, Alfred von. Niederlandisches Kunstler-Lexikon. 3 vols. Vienna, 1906-1911: 1(1906):459.

1907

  • Williamson, George Charles. "The Hermitage Collection at St. Petersburg." Connoisseur 19 (December 1907): 209.

  • Thieme, Ulrich, and Frederick C. Willis. Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 15, Gresse-Hanselmann. Leipzig, 1922: 592.

1909

  • Schaeffer, Emil. Van Dyck: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben. Stuttgart, 1909: 13: 521, no. 489, repro.

  • Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d’Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l’Ermitage Impérial à St. Pétersbourg. London, 1909: xxvii, 147, repro.

1912

  • Réau, Louis. "La galerie de tableaux de l'Ermitage et la collection Semenov. 2: Ecoles de Nord." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 8 (December 1912): 474.

1916

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum. The Imperial Hermitage Museum: A brief catalogue of the picture gallery. Saint Petersburg, 1916: 50.

1918

  • Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Die Meisterwerke der Gemälde-Galerie in der Ermitage zu St. Petersburg. Edited by Georg Korczewski. 2nd ed. Munich, 1918: xxx, 171, repro.

1923

  • Weiner, Peter Paul von. Meisterwerke der Gemäldesammlung in der Eremitage zu Petrograd. Revised ed. Munich, 1923: 251, 320, repro.

1931

  • Glück, Gustav. Van Dyck: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 13. Revised 2nd ed. New York and Stuttgart, 1931: repro. 506, 577.

1940

  • McBride, Ruth Q. "Old Masters in a New National Gallery." The National Geographic Magazine 78 (1 July 1940): 17, repro.

1941

  • Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 204-205, no. 51.

  • Tolnay, Charles de. "Flemish Paintings in the National Gallery of Art." _Magazine of Art _ 34 (April 1941): 197-199, repro.

1942

  • National Gallery of Art. Book of illustrations. 2nd ed. Washington, 1942: 51, repro. 40, 240, as William II of Nassau and Orange by Sir Anthony van Dyck.

1943

  • Toynbee, Margaret R., and Leo van Puyvelde. "Van Dyck and the Amsterdam Double Portrait (An exchange of letters)." The Burlington Magazine 83, no. 485 (October 1943): 257-258.

  • Puyvelde, Leo van. "Van Dyck and the Amsterdam Double Portrait." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 83, no. 485 (August 1943): 204-207, 206 fig B.

1949

  • Imbourg, Pierre. Van Dyck. Monaco, 1949: 88, repro.

  • National Gallery of Art. Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 72, repro.

1950

  • Toynbee, Margaret R. "Adriaen Hanneman and the English Court in Exile." The Burlington Magazine 92, no. 564 (March 1950): 76 n. 26.

1956

  • Staring, Adolf. "William II of William III of wie?" Oud Holland 71, no. 3 (1956): 154-156, 158-159, repro.

1958

  • Toynbee, Margaret R. "Adriaen Hanneman and the English Court in Exile: A Further Note." The Burlington Magazine 100 (July 1958): 250.

1960

  • Millar, Oliver. The Age of Charles II. Exh. cat. Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1960: 22.

1963

  • Piper, David. Catalogue of Seventeenth-Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, 1625-1714. Cambridge, England, 1963: 140.

1965

  • National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 46, as William II of Nassau and Orange by Sir Anthony van Dyck.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 40, repro.

1972

  • Walker, John. "Let's Trade the Van Dyck and the Rembrandt for the Giorgione." Atlantic Monthly 230 (December 1972): 81.

1974

  • Walker, John. Self-portrait with Donors: Confessions of an Art Collector. Boston and Toronto, 1974: 116-118, repro.

1975

  • National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 118-119, repro.

1976

  • Kuile, Onne ter. Adriaen Hanneman, 1604-1671. Een haags portretschilder. Alphen aan den Rijn, 1976: 14, 17, 79-80, no. 22a, fig. 7.

1980

  • Larsen, Erik. L’opera completa di Van Dyck. 2 vols. Classici dell'arte 102-103. Milan, 1980: 2:126-127, no. 981, repro.

  • Larsen, Erik. Anton van Dyck: Werkverzeichnis. Translated by Wolfgang Bensch. 2 vols. Die großen Meister der Malerei. Frankfurt, 1980: 2:90, no. 689, repro.

1981

  • Walker, John. "A Portrait in Search of Identification." In The Shape of the Past: Studies in Honor of Franklin Murphy. Edited by Giorgio Buccellati and Charles Speroni. Los Angeles, 1981: 243-266, repro.

1982

  • Brown, Christopher. Van Dyck. Oxford, 1982: 224.

  • Alsop, Joseph. The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared. Bollingen series 35, no. 27. New York, 1982: 153, 526 n. 126..

1983

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. "Northern Baroque." In Encyclopedia of World Art. Edited by Bernard Samuel Myers. Palatine, Illinois, 1983: 16 (Supplement):197, pl. 44.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 264. no. 342, color repro.

1985

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 198, repro.

1988

  • Larsen, Erik. The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck. 2 vols. Freren, 1988: 2:357, no. 913, repro.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 95, color repro.

1995

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 92-95, color repro. 93.

  • Franits, Wayne E. "Young women preferred white to brown: Some remarks on Nicolaes Maes and the cultural context of late seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture." _Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek _ 46 (1995): 399, fig. 4.

1996

  • Davis, Marian L. Visual Design in Dress. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1996: 197, fig. 9-11.

2000

  • Il'in, Nikolas, and Natalia Semënova. Prodannye sokrovishcha Rossii [Sold Treasures of Russia]. Moscow, 2000: 126, repro.

2007

  • Ekkart, Rudolf E.O., and Quentin Buvelot. Dutch portraits: the age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals. Translated by Beverly Jackson. Exh. cat. National Gallery, London; Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague. London, 2007: 138-139, no. 28, repro.

2008

  • Buvelot, Quentin. "El retrato holandés." Numen 2 (2008): 8-9, repro.

2009

  • Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, D.C., 2009: 135 n. 62.

2011

  • Fiedler, Susanne, and Torsten Knuth. "Vexierbilder einer Biographie: Dr. Heinz Mansfeld (1899-1959)." Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher 126 (2011):308.

2013

  • Semyonova, Natalya, and Nicolas V. Iljine, eds. Selling Russia's Treasures: The Soviet Trade in Nationalized Art 1917-1938. New York and London, 2013: 138, 139, 152, repro.

2016

  • Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 397.

2020

  • Libby, Alexandra. “From Personal Treasures to Public Gifts: The Flemish Painting Collection at the National Gallery of Art.” In America and the Art of Flanders: Collecting Paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, and their Circles, edited by Esmée Quodbach. The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America 5. University Park, 2020: 133.

Wikidata ID

Q20177374

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