Hortensia del Prado () was a Dutch noblewoman and horticulturalist whose garden in Middelburg was featured by the poet
Jacob Cats
Jacob Cats (10 November 1577 – 12 September 1660) was a Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician. He is most famous for his emblem books.
Early years
Jacob Cats was born on 10 November 1577 in Brouwershaven as son of Adriaen Cornelis ...
.
Biography
Whilst little is known about del Prado's early life, the names of her two husbands and her talent in horticulture are recorded. Her first husband was Jean Fourmenois. After his death she then married Pieter Courten. The names of her husbands are recorded through the paintings that were commissioned of them. From her first marriage, she had one daughter Catharina Fourmenois. Del Prado and Courten had no children.
Courten and del Prado lived on the Lange Noordstraat in Middelburg and a neighbour was the poet
Jacob Cats
Jacob Cats (10 November 1577 – 12 September 1660) was a Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician. He is most famous for his emblem books.
Early years
Jacob Cats was born on 10 November 1577 in Brouwershaven as son of Adriaen Cornelis ...
. Del Prado was one of several enthusiastic horticulturalists in Middelburg in the seventeenth century and plant-swapping was part of social life for the wealthy there. Del Prado had built the garden in 1613 and it was large enough for a 'hundred' fountains, which also held fish and were supposedly powered by the
, as well as a wooded area and a meadow – all within the middle of the town. Cats featured the couple's garden in his 1624 poem ''Houwelick'', praising its fruit "from distant beaches" and the rare flowers "without any name".
Del Prado died on 18 June 1627.
Legacy
The Rijksmuseum has three portraits of del Prado in its collection: two by
Gortzius Geldorp
Gortzius Geldorp (1553–1618) was a Flemish Renaissance artist who was active in Germany where he distinguished himself through his portrait paintings.
Life
Gortzius Geldorp was born in Leuven. The early Flemish biographer Karel van Mander ...
dating to 1596 and 1599; one by
Salomon Mesdach
Salomon Mesdach (c. 1600 – 1632), was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
Salomon lived and worked in Middelburg, where he is known for portraits. Del Prado's portraits are a rich source for fashion historians, noted in particular for the black lace she wears in the Mesdach portrait.
File:Hortensia del Prado (gest 1627). Echtgenote van Jean Fourmenois Rijksmuseum SK-A-2072.jpeg, Portrait of del Prado, 1596, Gortzius Geldorp.
File:Hortensia del Prado (gest 1627) Rijksmuseum SK-A-2081.jpeg, Portrait of del Prado, 1599, Gortzius Geldorp.
File:Wapenbord met de wapens van het echtpaar Pieter Courten en Hortensia del Prado, 1625 Rijksmuseum SK-A-928.jpeg, Coat of arms with the coats of arms of the couple Pieter Courten and Hortensia del Prado, 1625.