Jan Mytens

Lt. Col. George B. Croft-Lyons, F.S.A. (1855-1926), England;

By whose executors sold, London, Sotheby's, 8 December 1926, lot 74 to Coulin (as Sir Peter Lely, Portrait of Frances Stewart);

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Beck Patterson, Tucson, Arizona;

By whom bequeathed to the Dayton Art Institute, Ohio (as Sir Peter Lely);

By whom sold ("Sold by Order of the Trustees of the Dayton Art Institute to Benefit its Acquisition Fund"), New York, Sotheby's, 16 May 1996, lot 77 (as Jan Mytens).

R. Wishnevsky, Studien zum 'Portrait Historié' in den Niederlanden, PhD Dissertation,  Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitait 1967, p. 184, cat. no. 53;

A. Bauer, Jan Mijtens (1613/14-1670): Leben und Werk, Petersberg 2006, p. 195, cat. no. A58, reproduced plate 58.

Eleven portraits by Jan Mytens of sitters in the guise of Diana are known, all of very similar format and costume. Only two of the sitters can be identified, and while the present portrait was once thought to depict Frances Theresa Stuart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (1647-1702), Mytens is not believed to have visited England during his lifetime making this an improbable identification. More likely, the elegant sitter is Françoise van Aerssen (1642-1720) who sat for the artist on at least one other occasion. In 1667, she married Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk, a prominent Dutch military general and second cousin of King William III of England. Mytens painted The Hague's most prominent citizens and the present work exemplifies the harmony of colour, composition and elegance for which he merited his reputation as a leading court portraitist. Nina Bauer dates the present work to circa 1660, in line with the other eleven portraits of this type (see literature).