Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of an old man with a shell ca. 1606 oil on panel Royal Collection, Great Britain |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Dudley Carleton, Viscount Dorchester ca. 1620 oil on panel National Portrait Gallery, London |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia (The Winter Queen) ca. 1623 oil on panel National Portrait Gallery, London |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange 1623 oil on panel National Trust, Ashdown House, Berkshire |
"Michiel van Mierevelt's life roughly spans the Eighty Years War between Spain and the Low Countries. The city of Delft benefited from its proximity to the government headquarters of the Republic in The Hague. Moreover, when Stadholder William of Orange moved to Delft's Prinsenhof in 1582, Delft also became one of the court's residences. In addition, the increasing wealth of the middle classes afforded great opportunities for a portrait specialist and from 1590 van Mierevelt, the son of a goldsmith, devoted himself entirely to the art of portraiture. Joachim van Sandrart wrote that van Mierevelt "himself thought that he had produced some ten thousand likenesses." Today's estimate reduces this to a still-impressive five thousand (of which some 629 survive), all showing a consistent quality in the careful reproduction of faces and the exquisite rendering of costumes and fabrics. Such quality and the high production rate of the studio could not have been achieved without standardised working methods and an efficiently run business. . . . In Van Mierevelt's entire oeuvre facial measurements and proportions were consistent, so much so that it appears that he used a prototype for both male and female faces, although he would adjust this prototype for each client in such a way that the portrait bore a good resemblance. . . . Three times Van Mierevelt rejected prestigious offers to become court painter, twice by English rulers (Prince Henry and Charles I), but he was not going to abandon financial stability for an uncertain career in a foreign country."
– from an essay by Maaike Dirkx published on Rembrandt's Room (2013)
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of a Lady ca. 1625 oil on panel Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of a Gentleman 1625 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of a Lady 1628 oil on panel Wallace Collection, London |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Horace Vere, Baron Vere of Tilbury 1629 oil on panel National Portrait Gallery, London |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Edward Cecil, Viscount Wimbledon 1631 oil on panel National Portrait Gallery, London |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Jacob Cats 1634 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of François van Aerssen ca. 1636 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Aegje Hasselaer 1640 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of Henrick Hooft 1640 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Michiel van Mierevelt Portrait of a Lady before 1641 oil on panel private collection |