Putti Bearing a Cartouche with Stadholder Frederik Hendrik's Date of Birth
Salomon de Bray
1651
This large painting comes from the Oranjezaal (Orange Hall) in Huis ten Bosch Palace, here in The Hague. It was part of a decorative scheme dedicated to the late Stadholder Frederik Hendrik. De Bray painted an imitation sculpture with putti bearing a cartouche with the stadholder’s date of birth.
The painting originally hung above a fireplace, but in around 1805 had to make way for a door. Seventy years later it was found in the Mauritshuis attic.
oil on canvas
103.5 x 255 cm.
Found in the attic of the Mauritshuis, 1875