Artwork
Portrait of Jan the Younger (1583-1638), Count of Nassau-Siegen
Portrait of Jan the Younger (1583-1638), Count of Nassau-Siegen is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan van Ravesteyn. It dates from 1623 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a genre portrait, the work serves to represent the identity and status of the Count within the context of the House of Nassau.
The painting depicts John VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen, identified as the primary subject of the work. Created in 1623 by Jan van Ravesteyn, the piece functions as a formal portrait commissioned by Maurice of Nassau. As a genre portrait, the work serves to represent the identity and status of the Count within the context of the House of Nassau. The depiction focuses on the individual likeness of the nobleman rather than allegorical or complex symbolic narratives.
Technique & Style
The portrait is executed in oil paint on panel, a support typical of early seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture. The composition is compact, measuring 29.8 cm in height by 24.2 cm in width, an intimate scale suited to private display. Painted in 1623 by Jan van Ravesteyn, the work is classified as a portrait genre painting and is held in the Rijksmuseum collection.
The small panel format and oil medium are consistent with Ravesteyn's documented practice of producing refined bust- and half-length likenesses of prominent patrons, including members of the House of Nassau.
No source provides further detail on the specific handling of the paint, the condition of the panel, or the stylistic qualities of the composition.
History & Provenance
The portrait of Jan the Younger, Count of Nassau-Siegen, was painted by Jan van Ravesteyn in 1623, executed in oil on panel. The work was owned by Maurice of Nassau, indicating that it passed through the holdings of the House of Orange-Nassau before entering the institutional collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it is now held as part of the National Art Gallery of the Netherlands and located at the Stadhouderlijk Hof.
No specific commission details or intermediate ownership transfers are documented in the available sources beyond the link to Maurice of Nassau.
The Portrait of Jan the Younger (1583-1638), Count of Nassau-Siegen, painted by Jan van Ravesteyn in 1623, is housed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam within its Stadhouderlijk Hof collection. The work entered the collection through hereditary succession linked to Maurice of Nassau and has been part of the museum's permanent display as a portrait from the Dutch Golden Age.
Measured at 29.8 cm in height and 24.2 cm in width, the oil on panel painting was created as a likeness of John VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen, and remains accessible for scholarly study and public viewing in the museum's portrait gallery.
Context
Jan van Ravesteyn painted this likeness of his younger brother Jan in 1623, capturing the sitter as John VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen, within the family’s political orbit; the work entered the collection of Maurice of Nassau and now resides in the Rijksmuseum, underscoring its role as a representative example of Dutch portraiture from the early 17th century, a genre the artist mastered alongside contemporaries such as Michiel van Mierevelt, though his stylistic influence remained more restrained than the flamboyant trends of Rubens’ circle, a contrast highlighted in scholarly assessments of his output
Overview
Jan van Ravesteyn’s oil portrait, dated 1623, depicts Jan the Younger, Count of Nassau‑Siegen, a prominent figure of the Dutch Republic’s aristocracy. Executed in the early seventeenth century, the work exemplifies the portraiture that flourished during the Dutch Golden Age, when artists catered to the elite’s desire for dignified, individualized likenesses.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Anthoniszoon (abbr. Anthonisz.) van Ravesteyn (c. 1572 – buried 21 June 1657) was a successful portrait painter to the Dutch court in The Hague.
