Paul van Somer I

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 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 Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

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 from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, and of nobles such as Ludovic Stuart, earl of Lennox, Elizabeth Stanley, Countess of Huntingdon, 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, 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.