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| Title | Portrait of James VI of Scotland | |
| Collection | Historic Scotland (Edinburgh Castle) | |
| Artist | Attributed to Vanson, Adrian (Netherlandish painter and court artist, active ca. 1570-1602, died before 1610) Attributed to Bronckorst, Arnold (Netherlandish painter, ca.1566-1586) |
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| Date Earliest | about 1583 | |
| Date Latest | about 1585 | |
| Description | This is a rare portrait showing James VI before his marriage to Anne of Denmark in 1589. Comparison with James VI aged 17 (1583, Dunfermline Palace) and Portrait of James VI (1586, Falkland Palace) suggests it was painted by Vanson around 1583/85, at a time when the Scottish court began to negotiate with Denmark an alliance by marriage. It is possible that this portrait was sent to the Danish court to attract a royal bride. The later inscription in German, the official language at the Danish court, and an early inventory at Kronenberg Castle, Denmark, support this thesis. | |
| Current Accession Number | EDIN038 | |
| Former Accession Number | PPD113 | |
| Inscription | front ur 'James der Sechst- Konnig Von Schottlandi' | |
| Subject | portrait (James VI of Scotland) | |
| Measurements | 82.5 x 61 cm.0 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on panel | |
| Acquisition Details | Purchased from the Weiss Gallery, London, 1996. | |
| Provenance | Possibly at Kronenberg Castle, Denmark, by 1600; possibly purchased by a member of the Van Rechteren Limburg-Almelo family in the late seventeenth century; by descent to Count van Rechteren Limburg-Almelo (Netherlands) until 1989; private collection (England). | |
| Publications | Weiss Sales Catalogue , London, 1996, cat. no. 12; Strong, R., Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, London, 1969, vol. 1, p. 178, vol. 2, no. 345; Millar, O., Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, 1963, vol. 1, p. 78, no. 96. | |
| Notes | The inscription translates as 'James the Sixth - King of Scotland'; it is probably a later addition. In 1969 Roy Strong noted that the whereabouts of the portrait were unknown. According to the Weiss Gallery sales catalogue, an early inventory belonging to Christian VI (1600, Kronenberg Castle) lists a portrait of 'the English King', which probably refers to a portrait of James, Christian VI's brother-in law. The portrait would have be been subsequently moved along with the other royal portraits to the Castle of Fredericksborg. Later Danish inventories, however, fail to list such a portrait. The Van Rechteren Limburg-Almelo are an ancient and noble European family, one of whom was a distinguished diplomat in the late seventeenth century. It is possible that the portrait was acquired by one of the family directly from Fredericksborg at around that time. |
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| Rights Owner | Crown Copyright © Historic Scotland | |
| Author | Dr Claudia Heide | |