Francois Dieussart - Queen Henrietta Maria, Rosenborg Castle, Denmark

Queen Henrietta Maria
wife of Charles I

Marble Bust 

by Francois Dieussart (c1600 - 61) 

at Rosenborg Castle, Denmark.

A few rough notes and some related photographs, paintings and engravings.

Prepared in order to add background to the le Sueur portrait busts and Statues planned for a future post.

 There is unfortunately no entry for him in the Biographical  Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660 - 1851.

see - Ch. Avery, 'François Dieussart (c. 1600-61), portrait sculptor to the courts of Northern Europe', Victoria and Albert Yearbook 4 (1974), p. 63-99,

Frits Scholten, "Sir Constantijn Huygens and François Dieussart, a portrait observed," The Sculpture Journal, publ. by the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association London, 1997, pp. 7–15.

François Dieussart (also Frans; Armentières, c. 1600 – London, 1661) was a Flemish-Walloon sculptor who worked for court patrons in England and northern Europe, producing portrait busts in the Italianate style.

He was almost certainly working as a sculptor when he went to Rome Rome in his early twenties. He appears in an entry from 1622 at the charitable organisation run at the Church of St. Julian of the Flemings and had become its director by 1630. 

He was invited to England by the Earl of Arundel in 1636, and made a reputation there with the construction of a magnificent mechanical monstrance forty feet (12.2 metres) high for Queen Henrietta Maria's chapel at Somerset House.

His bust of Charles I of England, probably commissioned by Arundel, is at Arundel Castle (below). 

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Another portrait bust of Charles I is in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle,

It has, in the past been believed that this bust may be a version of a bust by Dieussart.

The Royal Collection say - possibly by Thomas Adye or Francis Bird (c. 1737- 44) is speculatively thought to be based on a now lost bust by Dieussart.

Charles I

Attributed to

Jan Blommendael (c.1650-1699).

In the Grand Vestibule Windsor castle

Image courtesy Royal Collection.

They say-

"This bust was made as a companion to a bust of William III (RCIN 35857) attributed to William's court sculptor Jan Blommendael. It has long been thought to be a copy of the bust of Charles I made by Gianlorenzo Bernini in 1636, which was destroyed in the Whitehall Palace fire of 1698. Opinion remains divided on this point: This bust does not show the sophistication, the illusionism or the exceptionally fine cutting characteristic of Bernini's work of the 1630s. It is also questionable whether Blommendael, who was never in England, may have had an opportunity to model a copy of Bernini's bust before its destruction. In his own portraiture, William III was inclined to follow the poses and settings designed for his grandfather Charles I, and it is possible that he commissioned these two busts as an assertion of his legitimate right to the throne. Both busts may both be copies.

 Their condition has been affected by display in the open air during part of their history.

Provenance.

First recorded in the collection of E.J. Coleman of 32 Grosvenor Square, London.
Sold Christie's, London, 30 July 1881, lot 104 (wrongly stated in the catalogue to have been at Newstead Abbey);
B.W. Currie, Minley Manor, Hants.
Sold Christie's, London, 27 March 1937, lot 63 (with RCIN 35856). Bought by HM Queen Elizabeth".

Image from website -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/menesje/10853539794/in/photostream/

Engraving of the (earlier?) version of the "Blomendael" bust.

The form of the socle here is very similar to that used extensively by Dieussart.

Lending credibility to the theory that the now lost original was by Dieussart.

The question then arises - was the putative Dieussart  bust (in the above engraving) based on the original by Bernini lost in the 1698 fire at Whitehall Palace?

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William III
Blommendael
1699
Maurithuis The Hague.

https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/the-collection/artworks/bust-of-stadholderking-william-iii-16501702-361/#

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Henrietta Maria 

Consort of Charles I

Francois Dieussart

1640.
Rosenborg Castle Denmark

http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/6860ba34.html

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Henrietta Maria 

van Dyck

1638

Royal Collection

Queen Henrietta Maria

van Dyck

Oil on Canvas

64.1 x 48.3.

Memphis Brookes Museum of Art

They say - 

This painting of Henrietta Maria is thought to be one of three portraits commissioned for the Italian sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini to use in sculpting a portrait bust of the queen. In 1635 Bernini had completed a bust of Charles I (lost in a fire at Whitehall) from a triple portrait by van Dyck. The royal couple was pleased with the result and immediately commissioned a reluctant Bernini to complete a similar bust of the queen.

 Two additional painted portrait busts of Henrietta Maria remain in the Royal Collection: a frontal view and a left-facing profile view. (see aboveThe Brooks right-facing profile might have been a third image of this set. The vague shadow of a frontal portrait, however, visible on the right edge of the Brooks canvas, suggests the painting was cut down from its original size and the frontal image painted over. It is therefore possible that the Brooks portrait was not painted at the same time as the two canvases in the Royal Collection. None of the paintings was ever sent to Bernini, presumably due to the political problems facing the English court. In 1642 the English Civil War began and Henrietta Maria fled England for France.

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Elizabeth of Bohemia sister of Charles I (1596 - 1662).
Francois Dieussart
1641.

The bust of Elizabethis displayed in the new European Galleries is a second version of one in the collection of H.R.H. the Prince of Hanover, which is there paired with a portrait of her husband.

François Dieussart was Charles I’s court sculptor and the bust was one of the first commissions he received after he had left England for The Hague, where the Queen was living in exile.

Images above courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum.

Elizabeth was the only surviving daughter of James I. In 1613 she married Frederick, the Protestant ruler of the Palatinate, an area of present-day Germany.

 In 1619, following a rebellion against the Catholic Habsburg rulers, Frederick accepted the throne of Bohemia. He and Elizabeth were expelled after less than a year, however, in one of the early battles of the Thirty Years' War. 

Living in exile in The Hague, Elizabeth came to be seen as an ideal Protestant heroine; her hardships in exile, combined with her beauty, made her a legend in England as 'The Winter Queen'. Her large family of children included Prince Rupert (also sculpted by Dieussart) and Princess Sophia, the mother of King George I.

Elizabeth of Bohemia sister of Charles I

Gerrit van Honthorst

Oil on panel
667 x 546 mm.
 c. 1642.

National Portrait Gallery.

Elizabeth of Bohemia
Gerrit van Honthorst.(1592 - 1656)
Oil on Canvas
205.1 x 130.8cms.
signed and dated 1642.

Given to the National Gallery Cornelia Countess of Craven 1965

Elizabeth Stuart (1596 - 1662), known as the 'Winter Queen', was the eldest daughter of James I of England. She married Frederick, the Elector of the Palatinate, in 1613. He accepted the Bohemian crown in 1619, and was expelled from Bohemia in the following year. They lived in exile in Holland from 1621 onwards. She returned to England in 1661, and stayed in the London house of the 1st Earl Craven. In the following year she moved into Leicester House in Leicester Square where she died a few weeks later on 13 February.

The picture was painted during the Queen's exile in Holland, ten years after she had been widowed, and may have been commissioned to mark this anniversary. She is shown as a grieving widow, wearing black with very few pieces of jewellery, notably the pearl earrings which had been given to her by her husband. She holds a stem in her hand on which there are two roses, one healthy and one wilted, a symbol of her widowed state along with the black ribbon on her arm. The dog can be interpreted as a symbol of fidelity.

Words and image from -

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gerrit-van-honthorst-elizabeth-stuart-queen-of-bohemia

National Gallery London.
There are 45 various portraits in the NPG but here is not the place to investigate the earlier portraits. It will suffice to post a couple here that are more or less contemporary with the V&A marble bust.



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Elizabeth of Bohemia.
Gerrit van Honthorst.
Oil on Canvas
72.5 x 59 cms
165o
Ashdown House, National Trust

Acquired from the Sale of the Earl of Craven, Sotheby's, 1968.
Image courtesy Art UK

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Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine

by Robert van Voerst, after Gerrit van Honthorst

line engraving, 1631

16 1/4 in. x 11 7/8 in. (412 mm x 302 mm) paper size

Engraving National Portrait Gallery.

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Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine

after Unknown artist

line engraving, mid 17th century

(220 mm x 145 mm) plate size (228 mm x 152 mm) paper size.

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Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine

by Willem Jacobsz Delff, after Michiel Jansz. van Miereveldt

line engraving, 

1623.

(417 mm x 294 mm) paper size

National Portrait Gallery.

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Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine

after Unknown artist

line engraving, 

17th century

 (137 mm x 112 mm) paper size

National Portrait Gallery.

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Elizabeth and Frederick
by Simon de Passe

line engraving, 

115 mm x 87 mm. paper size.

National Portrait Gallery

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The Sanssouci Marble busts - copies after?

Francois Dieussart
from the originals c.1747.

Mary Stuart, Princess Royal (1631 - 61)

Sancoussi

Mary Stuart, Princess Royal (1631 - 61)

Francois Dieussart

Schloss Museum Oranienburg

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Princess Amalia of Solms - Braunfels (1602 - 75).

Amalia van Solms

Gerrit van Honthorst 

1630's

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Amalia van Solms 

after Michiel van Mierevelt

67.1 x 57.2cms

Rijksmuseum.

There are two further versions of this painting another in the Rijksmuseum and the probable original in the Museum in the Hague (above).

Amalia van Solms

Gerrit van Honthorst (studio?)

1650

currently Huygensmuseum Hofwijck

Rijksmuseum Collection

Pendant to

Frederick Henry

Gerrit van Honthorst (studio?)

1650

currently Huygensmuseum Hofwijck

Rijksmuseum Collection.

Cornellis Visscher

1649

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Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and his family

after Unknown artist

line engraving, 17th century

7 7/8 in. x 10 3/8 in. (200 mm x 262 mm) paper size.

National Portrait Gallery.

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Frederick Henry and Amalia van Solms

Gerrit van Hondhorst

Oil on Canvas 

218 x 201.5 cms

1637

Mauritshuis, the Hague, Holland.

Jan Mytens

Siegerland Museum, Germany.

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Friedrich Heinrich, Prinz of Oranien 

Francois Dieussart

1647

 Oranien rondell,  Sanssouci.

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Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg

Francois Dieussart-

1647.
82 cms
Inscribed - FRIED. WILH ELECT. BRANDENB. ANO AET. 33 1652.

Oranienrondell-Östlicher Lustgarten-Sanssouci

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Kurfürstin Louise (1627 - 1657)
Henriette-Oranienrondell-

Francois Dieussart
Height 79 cms

inscribed on socle - LVDVICA AURIACA ELECT. BRANDENB. ANO AET. 24. 1652

Östlicher Lustgarten, Sanssouci.

Moritz Prinz von Oranien 

 Francois Dieussart 

1647

Oranienrondell - Sanssouci

Philipp Wilhelm Prinz von Oranien

Rondell-Östlicher Lustgarten-Sanssouci

Prinz Wihelm II von Oranien

 Francois Dieussart)

1647.

Oranienrondell-Sanssouci

Copy - new socle?


All theSanssouci bust photographs from -

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fran%C3%A7ois_Dieussart

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Portrait of Johanna Doré and her husband Pieter Spiering, 

François Dieussart, c. 1645 - c. 1650

marble,

 h 83.0 cm. × w 57.0 cm. × d 29.0 cm.

Both Busts Purchased by the Rijksmuseum in 1971.

Portrait of Pieter Spiering, 

François Dieussart, c. 1645 - c. 1650

marble (rock), h 89.0 cm. × w 65.0 cm. × d 32.0 cm.

The Flemish sculptor Dieussart was a very popular portraitist at princely courts throughout northern Europe. In The Hague, he worked for Stadtholder Frederick Henry, but he also portrayed wealthy citizens, such as the Delft tapestry-weaver Pieter Spiering and his wife, Johanna Doré (above).

Blurb from the wonderful Rijksmuseum website

Literature

François Dieussart in the United Provinces and the Ambassador of Queen Christina : two newly identified busts purchased by the Rijksmuseum / C. Avery.

By: Avery, Charles.

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Prince Rupert of the Rhine 

 Francois Dieussart

Marble bust.

Weathered and the nose replaced by an ungifted amatuer

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Photographed by the author.

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Charles II as Crown Prince 1630 - 85

Francois Dieussart

c. 1650

Image courtesy Rijksmuseum

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Lord Arundel

Francois Dieussart

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Photographed in poor light by the author.

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Frederick Henry of Orange (1584 - 1647.

 the youngest son of William I of Orange . 

After the death of his older brother Moritz Friedrich Heinrich followed him in 1625 as governor of the Netherlands. He fought for the independence of the Netherlands during the 80 years war against the Spaniards. Because of its success in the conquest of fortified cities (especially in 1627 Grol , 1629 's-Hertogenbosch and 1632 Maastricht ) he got the nickname "stedendwinger" the cities conqueror. 

Domestically important Friedrich Heinrich became by the union of the office of a captain generalall troops with the governorship of all provinces. The attributes marshal's staff, sword and armband are typical of the portrait depictions of the Orange governor.

 Frederick Henry of Orange (1584 -1647),

general governor of the Netherlands in armor with folded broad scarf, over the right shoulder gekontet. In his right hand he holds a command staff over his chest, the left hand is over it and holds a medallion hanging on the band around his neck.

The bust stood until 1785 in a garden grotto in Oranienbaum.

see also bust above in the garden at Sanssouci

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Frederick Henry
Engraving Paulus Pontius
after Anthony van Dyck.
34 x 48.5
c. 1630.

The original is in the Norton Simon Foundation, Los Angeles.

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Bust of William II of Orange (1626-1650) Heir of the Netherlands and Harnisch

The right hand holds a commander's staff, the left one grasps a band wound around his shoulder, and on the chest he wears a medallion.

The bust stood until about 1785 in a garden grotto in Oranienbaum.

(KSDW)

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Frederick III

King of Denmark
c. 1661.

Francois Dieussart

Museum of Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Francois Dieussart
Museo Cerralbo, Madrid.

Don Juan Jose of Austria Dieussart
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William II of Orange

Francois Dieussart

contracted and payed for 1646/7

In the private collection Amalia van Solms, The Hague

Palace Huis ten Bosch, The Hague; mentioned in her 1654/1668 inventory, under 'Mixed frayicheden.': 'Four statues in full armor, all hewed in white, marber as big as life, denoting the thorough pranks of Orangen, Willem, Maurits, Frederick Hendrick and Willem de laeste, all of the immortal recall. " (Drossaers / Lunsingh Scheurleer voil 1, pp. 259, No. 617)

1647 - 1675

private collection William III (Prince of Orange - King of England), Het Loo/Soestdijk/Honselaarsdijk/London

inherited from his grandmother Amalia from Solms; at some time transported to Honselaarsdijk; mentioned in the 1694/1702 inventory of Honselaarsdijk as' In the bassecourt after the east./ The great gallery. ':' Four standing marble statues, Prince Willem the First, Frederik Hendrik and William the Second [and Prince Maurtis], with haere wooden pedestals. ' (Drossaers / Lunsigh Scheurleer 1974-1976, Vol 1, p 475, No. 579)

1675 - 1702

private collection Friedrich I of Prussia, Berlin City Palace / Oranienburg / Honselaarsdijk

still at Honselaarsdijk

1702 - 1713

private collection Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, Berlin

Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777), who wrote in his diary: '[...] the garden means nothing more, the beautiful alabaster statues of the princes of Oranjen are with Mooß overgrow and everything smells like the Prussian government. (transcription Lindeboom 1958); Moved to Berlin by Fredrich Wilhelm I or his son Friedrich II

1713 - 1740

private collection Friedrich II of Prussia, Sanssouci Palace (Potsdam) / Berlin City Palace / Oranienburg / Honselaarsdijk

1740 - 1786

Potsdamer Stadtschloss, Potsdam (Germany)

in the 'Marble Hall' (Hüneke 1991)

- 1945

Special status   lost 1945

Contracted 1646 - 7

Provenance as above.

Portrait of Willem I 'the Silent' van Oranje-Nassau (1533-1584).

Maurits of Orange Nassau (1567 - 1625).

Information As above

From - https://rkd.nl/en/explore/portraits/record?query=Fran%C3%A7ois+Dieussart&start=7
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Christian IV

Modelled 1643 and cast in 1650.

Bronze

Rosenborg Castle 

François Dieussart, 1661, Flemish sculptor. François Dieussart was probably trained in Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini's workshop in Rome.

Christian 4. summoned Dieussart in 1643 to Denmark, where he made several busts of the king (Marble 1644, Bronze 1650, both at Rosenborg Castle ). 

Over the Sealand's port at Kastellet in Copenhagen is his bronze bust of Frederik 3. (engraved in 1663). These portraits are the first Scandinavian portrait busts in the classical style (check this!).

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Leopold of Austria
Kunsthistorische Museum, Vienna, Austria

Inscribed FRCO: DIEUSSART VALLON FECIT 1656

Image courtesy Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Kunstkammer

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Princess Sophia (1630 - 1714).
Electress of Hanover
Mother of George I
signed FMRF?
1648

The inscription translates as: The Most Serene Princess Sophia of the Palatine, Daughter of Frederick King of Bohemia, AD 1648, aged 17.

Granddaughter of James I and youngest child of Elizabeth of Bohemia, Sophia was brought up at Leiden before moving to her mother's court at The Hague in 1641. She was tutored in mathematics, law, theology, history and six languages. 

Her prolific correspondence, written in both French and German, provides a detailed account of court life. 

In 1658 she married Ernest Augustus, and she eventually became the mother of seven children. As the nearest Protestant claimant to the British throne after Queen Anne, her eldest son became George I.

Purchased 1967

The Socle certainly suggest studio of Dieussart
National Portrait Gallery.

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 Prince Wilhelm Heinrich, Elector of Brandenburg, (1648-1649),

François Dieussart:

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Frederick Hendrik

Gothic House, Worlitz

private collection Amalia van Solms, The Hague

mentioned in the 1654/1668 inventory of her belongings, under the 'Gemengelde frayicheden.': 'Drij figurines van marber, halflijvig, van de doorluchtige princen Frederick Willem, cheurvorst van Brandenburg, Frederick Hendrick end Willem de laetste, de twee leste onsterffelijcker memorie . ' (Drossaers / Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974-1976, vol. 1, p.258, no. 607) mentioned in the 1676 boedelscheiding (property settlement) of Amalia van Solms: 'End eyndtlijk geloot zijnde de albastre halve troniën, soo is te beurt gevallen as volgth. ' [...] 'De cavel B, zijnde prins Henrick, aan de hertoghinne van Zimmern.' (Drossaers / Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974-1976, vol 1, p 376, no. 1578)

1654 - 1675 lakes 1654; 1675: year of decease of Amalia van Solms

private collection Maria prinses van Oranje-Nassau (hertogin von Simmern), Kreuznach / Simmern / Turnhout

inherited from her mother Amalia van Solms (see above)

1676 - 1688 1688: year of death of Maria van Oranje

private collection Henriette Catharina prinses van Oranje-Nassau (Princess of Anhalt-Dessau), Dessau / Oranienbaum (Germany)

inherited from her sister Mary (Van der Ploeg / Vermeeren 1997); Oranienbaum in Bechmann 1710: 'At the end of the left hand you can still see a costly grotto, with black and white jambs, also decorated with sepulchres and other pieces, and so on Bahrein pictures, of which one of Her Highness Hernn's father Prince Friedrich Heinrichen, the other of Dero's husband, the third of Dero's brother, Prince Wilhelmina; '

1688 - 1708 1708: year of death of Henriette Catharina

private collection Henriette Agnes prinses of Anhalt-Dessau, Dessau (Saksen-Anhalt)

Henriette Catharina (Van der Ploeg / Vermeeren 1997)

1708 - 1729 1729: year of decease of Henriette Agnes

private collection Marie Eleonore prinses from Anhalt-Dessau (hertogin Radziwill), Dessau (Saksen-Anhalt) / Nieborów

possibly since 1729

1729 - 1756 1756: year of death of Marie Eleanor

private collection Leopold III Friedrich Franz Prince and Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, Dessau (Saksen-Anhalt)

probably purchased from the bequest of his great-aunt Marie Eleonore

1756 - 1817

Gothic House, Wörlitz, inv./cat.nr II-794

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Frederick William van Oranj Nassau


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William II.

private collection Amalia van Solms, The Hague

mentioned in the 1654/1668 inventory of her belongings, under the 'Gemengelde frayicheden.': 'Drij figuren van marber, halflijvig, van de doorluchtige princen Frederick Willem, cheurvorst van Brandenburg, Frederick Hendrick ende Willem de laetste, de twee leste onsterffelijcker memorie.' (Drossaers/Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974-1976, vol. 1, p. 258, no. 607) mentioned in the 1676 boedelscheiding (property settlement) of Amalia van Solms: 'Ende eyndtlijk geloot zijnde de albastre halve troniën, soo is te beurt gevallen als volgth.' [...] 'De cavel C, zijnde prins Wullem, aan de vorstinne van Anhalt.' (Drossaers/Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974-1976, vol. 1, p. 376, no. 1579)

1654 - 1675 seen 1654; 1675: year of decease of Amalia van Solms

private collection Henriette Catharina prinses van Oranje-Nassau (Fürstin von Anhalt-Dessau), Dessau/Oranienbaum (Germany)

inherited from her mother Amalia van Solms (see above);placed in a grotto in the garden of Schloss Oranienbaum, see the description of Oranienbaum in Bechmann 1710: 'Man siehet auch noch an dem Ende zur Lincken Hand eine kostbahre Grotte, mit schwarz und weissen Marmel, auch Seulen und andern Stücken ausgezieret, worunder auch kostbahre Brust-Bilder, davon das eine von Ihro Hoheit Hernn Vater Prinz Friedrich Heinrichen, das andere von Dero Herrn Gemahl, das dritte von Dero Herrn Bruder Prinz Wilhelmen zu sehen

1676 - 1708 1708: year of death of Henriette Catharina

private collection Henriette Agnes prinses von Anhalt-Dessau, Dessau (Saksen-Anhalt)

possibly in her collection by inheritance from her mother Henriette Catharina (Van der Ploeg/Vermeeren 1997)

1708 - 1729 1729: year of decease of Henriette Agnes

private collection Marie Eleonore prinses von Anhalt-Dessau (hertogin Radziwill), Dessau (Saksen-Anhalt)/Nieborów

possibly since 1729 (in the case she inherited the bust from her sister Henriette Agnes, see Van der Ploeg/Vermeeren 1997)

1729 - 1756 1756: year of death of Marie Eleonore

private collection Leopold III Friedrich Franz Fürst und Herzog von Anhalt-Dessau, Dessau (Saksen-Anhalt)

probably purchased from the bequest of his great-aunt Marie Eleonore

1756 - 1817

Gotisches Haus, Wörlitz , inv./cat.nr II-796


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Drawing

141 x 114 mm

Attrib. Rysbrack

Socle is very close to the standard type used by Dieussart.

Nat Gallery of Scotland