Jan Mijtens (The Hague c. 1614-1670)

After training in the studio of his uncle, Isaac Mijtens the Elder (c. 1590-c. 1647), Jan Mijtens joined The Hague’s guild of painters in 1639. Having been Court painter to Willem II, Prince of Orange, until his death in 1650, Mijtens distinguished himself as an eminent portrait painter. In 1656, he was appointed governor of the guild and established the society of painters De Pictura, of which he was the dean from 1669-70. His paintings exhibit influences of the later works of Anthony van Dyck and Gonzales Coques.

Bauer recognised this fine depiction of a lady as a mature work in Mijtens’ oeuvre, executed around 1665, and compared it with the portrait of Maria Princess of Orange-Nassau (c. 1660-1665), which may have served as a model (op. cit.). Both paintings represent examples of a portrait historié, depicting known sitters in the guise of mythological and biblical figures, in this case, as Diana.