A word before - explanations on the state of research
The is the most famous and represetative work by Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1650-1702)
It depicts the young Prince William of Orange-Nassau (1650–1702)
at the age of about 10. (Later King of England, Scotland, and Ireland).
The painting is part of the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.
The exhibition catalog Jan Davidsz de Heem en zijn kring
(Centraal Museum Utrecht / Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig, 1991)
lists, under catalog number 22, the painting
Garland of Flowers and Fruit with the Portrait of Prince William III of Orange.
The scholarly research and image analysis for the exhibition were conducted by
art historian Dr. Sam Segal (1933–2018). Thanks to his expertise regarding the
flora and fauna depicted in painting no. 22, he was able to identify the preparatory
study for the painting Portrait of Prince William III of Orange in 2002.
Gerhard Renken, art and antiques dealer,
established in 1971 in Sarstedt near Hannover, Germany.
The preparatory study has been auctioned several times in the
past without its connection to the Portrait painting being identified.
The RKD archive lists the work under categories 628 and 800
as an autograph work by Jan Davidsz. de Heem.
It has been examined and certified by the Art Loss Register (ALR).
Due to the methodologically rigorous examination of the painting’s authenticity
and authorship as part of the preparatory study for the painting
Garland of Flowers and Fruit with the Portrait of Prince William III of Orange,
I was not able to complete this investigation until 2026. The validation was
comprehensive: Every single square centimeter of the image material was
systematically documented and analytically compared with the motif elements
of the final painting. This meticulous, detailed research covered a total area of
more than 65,000 square centimeters.
The goal of this project was to create a high-resolution macro comparison of
all the subjects from the Preparatory study with the Portrait painting.
The preparatory study has been extensively documented through photography
(1926, 1941, IRR Osiris A1, as well as before and after the 2006 restoration).
To enable a precise comparison of details, the painting was taken down from
display at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon on December 4, 2007,
and photographed under optimal studio lighting
Quick Online Image Comparison
All images from the preliminary study and the portrait painting in a
direct comparison—in high resolution thanks to macro photography
Research Findings - Facts from research - Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1608–1683/4).
The preparatory study by Garland of Flowers and Fruit with the Portrait of Prince William III of Orange.
My aim in creating this online database is to make the results of our joint research
(Segal/Renken) available to both the academic community and the general public.
I would like to express my posthumous gratitude to Sam Segal for his deep ommitment.
He was forced to step down from our collaborative research on October 17, 2010,
due to his age; since then, I have continued the project on my own until 2026.
The signed preparatory Study was executed on the same scale as the
portrait painting. It depicts only the fruit, flower, and insect elements,which were
the responsibility of Jan Davidsz. de Heem.
The restoration of the preparatory study was carried out in 2006 by the distinguished
restorer Evert Douwes VII (1928–2019, Douwes Fine Art). This was preceded by a
thorough examination and a recommendation from Sam Segal. As a founding
member of TEFAF Maastricht and chairman of the painting examination committee,
Douwes was a recognized expert. His written assessment, stating that the
preparatory study dates from the 17th century, is available.
As early as 2018, the Association of Historians of Netherlandish Art (HNA)
linked high-resolution macro images with a level of detail down to the
centimeter and millimeter from the online database
jan-davidsz-de-heem-coram-publico-2018.com
