Sunday, August 22, 2021

Herman van der Myn (Netherlandish Wanderer)

Herman van der Myn
Bacchante
1719
oil on panel
private collection

Herman van der Myn
Woman with a Dog
1719
oil on panel
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Herman van der Myn
Tamar
before 1741
oil on panel
private collection

Herman van der Myn
Ammon and Tamar
ca. 1725
oil on panel
Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Essex

Herman van der Myn
Danaë
ca. 1725
oil on panel
Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Essex

Herman van der Myn
Venus and Ceres
before 1741
oil on panel
private collection

Herman van der Myn
The Hat of Freedom
before 1741
oil on panel
private collection

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of a Woman as Flora
before 1741
oil on panel
private collection

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of Barbara Janssens at the Organ
1726
oil on panel
private collection

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of Carew Hervey Mildmay
1733
oil on canvas
Government Art Collection, London

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of James Brydges,
1st Duke of Chandos

ca. 1725
oil on canvas
National Portrait Gallery, London

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of Lady Sophia Bentinck, Duchess of Kent
1731
oil on canvas
National Trust, Belton House, Lincolnshire

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of Charlotte Myddelton, Countess of Warwick
1726
oil on canvas
National Trust, Chirk Castle, Wales

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of Queen Caroline of Ansbach
with her son William, Duke of Cumberland

1730
oil on canvas
Orleans House Gallery, London

Herman van der Myn
Portrait of William IV, Prince of Orange
1737
oil on canvas
private collection

"Herman van der Mijn [or van der Myn] was a pupil of Ernst Stuven (1660-1712) and lived in Amsterdam, then in Antwerp (1712-13), and finally in Düsseldorf, where he worked for the Elector Palatine, until the Prince died in 1716.  He then returned to Antwerp, before working in Paris, where he gained the patronage of the Duke d'Orléans until invited to London in 1721.  He was favoured by the Earl of Exeter, Lord Cadogan and Sir Gregory Page, and established a prosperous practice, particularly in the execution of small portraits.  Despite gaining the patronage of Queen Caroline in 1727, his extravagant lifestyle and large family – several of whom, George, Gerard and Robert became painters in succession to their father – ultimately resulted in great debts.  This association was severed temporarily when one of his paintings was refused in 1727/8 but, happily for the artist's stricken finances, restored upon the arrival of Prince William IV of Orange Nassau.  He went with the Prince and Princess to the Netherlands, and he was working at the palace of Het Loo in 1736.  Apparently he soon fell out of favour with his patron and returned to London, where he died."

– from biographical notes published by Philip Mould Ltd, London