painting, Dutch
Catalog Number
2000.9.2Title
Equestrian Portrait of Prince Frederik HendrikDate of Origin
ca. 1630Artist/Author
van Hillegaert, Pauels (1595-1640)Materials
oil on panelDescription
Painting, Dutch, oil on panel, showing a man on horseback. The man is wearing a plumed hat and a green uniform with white lace collar and sleeves. He is also wearing an orange sash. A battle is going on in the background.History
Pauels van Hillegaert painted numerous equestrian portraits of Prince Frederick Henry and his predecessor/brother, Prince Maurice, but he also produced a number of very large canvases of battles or sieges. This little panel combines both.Stadtholder Frederick Henry (1584-1647), often called the Stedendwinger (Forcer of Cities), was the commander-in-chief of the Dutch Republic’s army. Almost certainly, this painting commemorates the Spanish surrender of the besieged town of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 1629.