Explore the History of this artwork, Triumph of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange.
The Huis ten Bosch, now a Dutch royal residence, was built on a site near The Hague given to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange in 1645 by the Dutch Republic. In 1647, before it was completed, Frederick Henry died and his devoted widow Amalia of Solms-Braunfels designed to make substantial changes to the design, turning it into a memorial to her late husband.The Huis ten Bosch's main hall, the Oranjezaal, was decorated with a vast cycle of paintings celebrating the deeds and virtues of Frederick Henry. The idea for creating such a room dedicated to praising a national leader was taken from Peter Paul Rubens' Marie de' Medici cycle in Paris and the allegorical ceiling paintings of James I of England in the Banqueting House in London. Various painters, from both the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. were commissioned to create paintings for the cycle. Triumph was the culmination of the cycle. Jordaens had already been patronised by Princess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and created the Allegory of Time for the same room in 1650. After the death of both Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, Jordaens was now the leading painter of the Spanish Netherlands.Amalia took on her husband's former secretary Constantijn Huygens and the architect Jacob van Campen to supervise the painting of the Oranjezaal cycle. Letters survive from Jordaens to Huygens, showing that Van Campen sent a plan of the room to the painter and that he proposed a number of modifications to his original idea. Three oil sketches for the ceiling by Jordaens also survive, probably produced for Amalia's and Van Campen's approval.  None of the sketches totally matches the final painting, probably showing that not all of the painter's proposals were approved. Another letter survives from Jordaens to Amalia, explaining the allegorical meanings of the finished work.
James I of England Spanish Netherlands Constantijn Huygens Marie de' Medici cycle Oranjezaal Amalia of Solms-Braunfels Peter Paul Rubens The Hague Banqueting House Anthony van Dyck Huis ten Bosch Dutch Republic Jacob van Campen Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange London Netherlands