Steven van der Meulen
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Steven van der Meulen (born in
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,
; buried in London, 24 October 1563) 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 active c. 1543–1563. He gained prominence in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the first decade of the reign of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
as one of many Flemish artists active at the Tudor court.


Life

Little is known about van der Meulen's early life. His father was Rinnold (or Rumold) van der Meulen. He was probably born in
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,
, where he studied under Willem van Cleve the Younger in 1543 and was admitted to the
Guild of St Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identi ...
in 1552.Strong, ''English Icon'', p. 119''Grove Dictionary of Art'' He was in London by September 1560, is recorded as a member of the Dutch congregation there in June 1562, and was naturalized ( denisized) on 4 February 1562.Hearn, ''Dynasties'', p. 94 In 1561 the English merchant John Dymocke or Dymoch visited
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
in connection with negotiations for a marriage between Elizabeth and
Erik XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...
, taking with him a Netherlandish painter (''holländsk Konterfegare'') described as 'Master Staffan' to paint the portrait of the King. It is generally accepted that this was van der Meulen. In 1935, W. G. Constable identified this portrait with a full-length of Erik XIV at
Gripsholm Castle Gripsholm Castle ( sv, Gripsholms slott) is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm. Since Gustav Vasa, Gripshol ...
, Mariefred, near
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Scholar Elizabeth Drey discovered van der Meulen's will, dated 5 October 1563 during an
epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...
of the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
in London and proved on 20 January 1564. His will indicates that his wife Gertrude Stubbeleeren (or Stubbeleren) and children Rinnold (or Rumold) and Eric were resident in London with him at the time of his death. His daughter Elizabeth had been buried 22 September 1563 and so does not appear in the will. His son Rinnold was buried 15 October and his wife on 18 October. Steven van de Meulen died soon after; he was buried at
St Andrew Undershaft St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church in the City of London, the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is located on St Mary Axe, within the Aldgate ward, and is a rare example of a City church that survived both ...
on 24 October 1563.


Works

Many works confidently attributed to van der Meulen by
Sir Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ...
and others from the 1960s through the mid-2000s must be reevaluated in the light of the discovery that he died in 1563. These include a portrait pattern of Queen Elizabeth dating to the mid-1560s. Called by Strong the "Barrington Park" type after a representative example, these sophisticated portraits are probably a response to a proclamation of 1563, which was designed to counter the existence of many unflattering images of the Queen. A life-size () portrait of this type c. 1563, identified as the earliest full-length portrait of Elizabeth and possibly associated with the various marriage negotiations of the early 1560s, was auctioned by
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
as by van der Meulen in November 2007 for £2.6 million, more than twice its expected price of £700,000–£1 million.


Question of identity

The discovery of van der Meulen's 1563 will and burial records raised questions about the traditional identification of van de Meulen with the "famous paynter Steven" recorded in the 1590 inventory of the paintings of
John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, KB (c. 1533 – 1609) was an English aristocrat, who is remembered as one of the greatest collectors of art and books of his age. Early life John Lumley, born about 1533, was the grandson and heir of John, ...
and with Dymocke's "Master Staffan". In the Spring 2009 issue of ''The British Art Journal'' Bendor Grosvenor proposed an alternative identification of the painter "Steven" with the medallist
Steven van Herwijck Steven Cornelisz. van Herwijck (Utrecht c. 1530–London 1565/67), was a Netherlandish sculptor and gem engraver famous for his portrait medallions and medals. He spent two periods of his career in England, where he died. It has recently been s ...
.Grosvenor (2009) This new identification was accepted by a number of institutions, such as Historic Royal Palaces, Tate Britain and the V&A, who exhibited the full-length ''Hampden'' portrait of Elizabeth I as attributed to van Herwijck. In her 2014 study of the portraiture and patronage of
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ov ...
, Elizabeth Goldring raised concerns with identification of van Herwijck as the "paynter Steven". This identification is also rejected by Edward Town in his ''A Biographical Dictionary of London Painters, 1547–1625'' (2014):
Dendrochronological Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
study of the portrait of John Lumley in the National Portrait Gallery reveals that the painting is correctly dated to the 1570s or 1580s, after the documented deaths of both van der Meulen and van Herwijck. Of the identification of the painter, the NPG says "The style of painting is consistent with an Anglo-Netherlandish artist from this period.... However, as both van der Meulen and van Herwijck died in the 1560s the artist responsible for NPG 5262 must remain as an as yet unidentified émigré". In 2020, Edward Town attributed the ''Hampden'' portrait of Elizabeth I, now dated ca. 1567, and several others formerly attributed to van der Meulen, to
George Gower George Gower (c.1540–1596) was an English portrait painter who became Serjeant Painter to Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. Biography Very little is known about his early life except that he was a grandson of Sir John Gower of Stittenham, North ...
, Elizabeth's
Serjeant painter The Serjeant Painter was an honourable and lucrative position as court painter with the English monarch. It carried with it the prerogative of painting and gilding all of the King's residences, coaches, banners, etc. and it grossed over £1,000 ...
.


Notes


References

* * * * *Hearn, Karen, ed. (1995). ''Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530-1630.'' New York: Rizzoli. . * Strong, Roy (1969). ''The English Icon: Elizabethan and Jacobean Portraiture'', Routledge & Kegan Paul, London * * Waterhouse, Ellis (1994). '' Painting in Britain, 1530-1790''. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press/Pelican History of Art, 1994 edition. .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meulen, Steven van der 16th-century English painters English male painters Flemish portrait painters 1563 deaths Year of birth unknown Painters from Antwerp Belgian expatriates in England Belgian expatriates in Sweden