Lot 1271 D α

The prominently placed orange bow in this portrait allows us to identify the sitter as a member of the princely house of Orange. Comparison with other portraits, such as one painted by Gerard van Honthorst, suggest that this could be a portrait of Prince William II of Orange (1626-1659), grandson of the Dutch freedom fighter William the Silent. In 1641, William II married Mary Henrietta Stuart, daughter of King Charles I of England. Both his life and his reign as Prince of Orange were rather short: He suceeded his father as Stadtholder of the Netherlands in 1647, but died three years later aged just 24. His only son was born eight days after his death. He was to follow his father as Stadtholder of the Netherlands in 1672, and in 1689 became King William III of England and Scotland through his marriage to Mary II.
Alongside portraits, Pieter Verelst also painted genre pieces, biblical histories and "tronies", influenced by Rembrandt. He was a pupil of J. G. Cuyp and possibly of G. Dou. His three sons apprenticed under him as painters and all later settled in London.