Jacob Jacobsz de Wet II (1641, Haarlem – 1697,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

), also known as James de Witt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for a series of 110 portraits of Scottish monarchs, many of them

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

, produced for the

Palace of Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

during the reign of Charles II.

Biography

According to the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

(RKD) he was one of five children of the painter

Jacob Willemszoon de Wet Jacob Willemszoon de Wet or Jacob Willemsz. de Wet the Elder (c. 1610 – between 1675 and 1691) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose works were largely influenced by Rembrandt. Biography De Wet was born and died in Haarlem. Little is known ...

.Jacob de Wet II
in the RKD His father taught him to paint and he was first recorded in his father's notebook at age 16 when his father wrote that he sold one of his son's paintings. In 1668 he moved to Amsterdam and married Helena Stalmans, with whom he had five children. In 1673 he secured the patronage of

Sir William Bruce Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Baronet (c. 1630 – 1 January 1710), was a Scottish gentleman-architect, "the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland," as Howard Colvin observes.Colvin, p.172–176 As a key figure in introduc ...

, King’s Surveyor and Master of Works in Scotland, and was brought to

to work on Charles II's restoration of the

. For two years, de Wet painted decorative historical, mythical and allegorical scenes for the newly rebuilt state apartments at Holyrood, whilst also decorating his patron Bruce's house in

Balcaskie Balcaskie is a 17th-century country house in Fife, Scotland. It lies around 2 km north of St Monans, and is notable chiefly as the home and early work of architect Sir William Bruce. Robert Lorimer, an admirer of Bruce, called the house ...

, Fife.

In 1684 de Wet returned to work at Holyrood and signed a contract with Hugh Wallace, the Royal Cashkeeper, on 26 February which bound him to produce, for £120 per annum and within the period of two years, 110 portraits of Scottish monarchs from the legendary

King Fergus King Fergus (1775–1801) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won several races, but achieved greater success as a sire. He was British Champion sire in 1797 and his progeny included St Leger Stakes winner Hambletonian, who was only def ...

to the reigning Charles II. The contract stated that: For the next two years, de Wet worked in his Canongate studio painting a portrait a week for the royal collection. An earlier series of Scottish royal portraits, painted by

George Jamesone George Jamesone (or Jameson) (c. 1587 – 1644) was a Scottish painter who is regarded as Scotland's first eminent portrait-painter. Early years He was born in Aberdeen, where his father, Andrew Jamesone, was a stonemason. Jamesone attended t ...

for Charles I's Scottish coronation in 1633 and of which 26 currently survive, were sent to Holyrood and used by de Wet as a source for his own portraits. The inscriptions of names and accession dates follow George Buchanan's list of Scottish kings, however the dates are considerably muddled, either by a later restorer or the artist himself. The completed set (a portrait of

James VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

was also added upon his accession) was hung in the Great Gallery of

Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

and 97 are still on display today. Eleven of the portraits have disappeared, possibly destroyed by Lieutenant General Henry Hawley’s Dragoons, who were stationed at Holyrood after their defeat by

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

at Falkirk in 1746. Macbethus, King of Scotland

After completing his royal portrait series, and after a further two years in Scotland which included painting 34 scenes from the Life of Christ for

Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (29 May 1643 – 15 May 1695) was a Scottish peer and nobleman. He was the son of John Lyon, 2nd Earl of Kinghorne and his wife Lady Elizabeth Maule, daughter of Patrick Maule, 1st Earl of Panmu ...

on the ceiling of the Chapel of

Glamis Castle Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis (, ) in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public. Glamis Castle has been the home of the Lyon family since the 14th century, thoug ...

, de Wet again returned to Amsterdam. He is known for religious works done in his father's workshop for the Catholic community of Haarlem, portraits of wealthy Catholics of Amsterdam such as Jan Six, as well as hunting still lifes and landscapes with figures. He died in Amsterdam and was buried there in the Nieuwe Kerk on 16 November 1697. His widow Helena dying in Haarlem on 27 October 1707.

External links

References

Jacob de Wet II
on Artnet {{DEFAULTSORT:Wet II, Jacob de Court painters 1641 births 1697 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Artists from Haarlem