Caspar Netscher

This elegant portrait of Catharina van Capelle originated in the studio of Caspar Netscher, who was among the most preeminent portrait painters in The Hague in the last quarter of the 17^th century. It is of high-quality, preserving Netscher’s fine technique and rich coloring, and it compares closely to Netscher’s presumed original, signed and dated 1683, that formed part of a series of seven portraits of the Wolters Family: three brothers (Steven, Louis, Raymond), one sister (Maria) and three of their spouses. The portraits in that series, which today belong to the Van de Poll Wolters Quina Stichting (PWQ), all include a notable degree of studio assistance, possibly due to Netscher’s declining health or his obligation to other projects towards the end of his career. Additional studio versions of these portraits are known, possibly commissioned by other members of the Wolters family.

Catharine van Capelle (1655-1704), the daughter of Nicolaas Rochusz. van Capelle and Elisabeth Suerland, married her first husband, Raymond Wolters (1653-1684), in 1674. She would have been around the age of 28 when this likeness of her was recorded, shown luxuriously garbed, seated near a lush garden, and holding orange blossoms in her hand. Though her husband would die about a year after this portrait was captured, Catharine would go on to marry two more times: Jean Pauw in 1685 and later Henry ter Smitte.