Paul van Somer

Paul van Somer (c. 1577 – 1621), also known as Paulus van Somer, was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

artist who arrived in England from

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

during the reign of King

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...

and became one of the leading painters of the royal court. He painted a number of portraits both of James and his consort, Queen

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

, and of nobles such as Ludovic Stuart, earl of Lennox,

Elizabeth Stanley, Countess of Huntingdon Elizabeth Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (6 January 1588 – 20 January 1633), formerly Lady Elizabeth Stanley, was an English noblewoman and writer who was third in line of succession to the English throne. She was the wife of Henry Hastings, ...

, and

Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' ...

. He is sometimes designated as "Paul van Somer I" to distinguish him from the engraver of the same name who was active in England between 1670 and 1694. Paul van Somer is in some ways an elusive figure: not much is known about him, and his art is rarely written about;. According to Karel van Mander he was the brother of

Barend van Someren Barend van Someren (1572–1632) was a Flemish painter and printmaker who after training and working in Antwerp, worked a few years in Rome and finally took up residence in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. He is reported to have painted hist ...

, who married and brought back the daughter of

Aert Mijtens Aert Mijtens (c.1541–1602) was a Flemish Renaissance painter. Early life Mitjens was born in Brussels. He was the first known member of a family of painters named Mijtens or Mytens. He was the uncle of Isaac Mijtens (ca. 1602–1666), a po ...

after he returned from Italy.