James Hamilton in 1623, aged 17.

James Hamilton in 1629.

Daniël Mijtens (c.1590–1647 to 1647 or 1648), known in England as Daniel Mytens the Elder, was a Dutch portrait painter who spent the central years of his career working in England. He was born in Delft into a family of artists and trained either in his home town or perhaps in the studio of Michiel van Mierevelt in The Hague. No known work surives from his first Dutch period. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... Delft is a city in South Holland, Netherlands, located halfway between Rotterdam and The Hague. ... Arms of The Hague The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: Den Haag, or officially s-Gravenhage) is the administrative capital of the Netherlands, located in the west of the country, in the province South Holland of which it is also the capital. ...

By 1618 had moved to London where his initial patron was the leading art collector Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel. Mijtens painted the Earl and his Countess, and was soon commissioned to paint King James I and his son the Charles, Prince of Wales. After the prince's accession to the throne as Charles I in 1625 Mijtens produced such a large number of full length portraits of Charles I and his courtiers, including dulpicates, that it is assumed that he had workshop assistance. Two of his finest portraits are of the same man, James Hamilton later 1st Duke of Hamilton, whom he painted as a seventeen year old in 1623 and again in 1629. Mijtens made visits to the Netherlands in 1626 and 1630, perhaps to study the latest developments in his field. Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, 4th Earl of Surrey and 1st Earl of Norfolk (7 July 1586 - 4 October 1646), was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I but made his name as an art collector rather than a politician. ... James VI of Scotland and I of England (Charles James) (19 June 1566–27 March 1625) was a King who ruled over England, Scotland and Ireland, and was the first Sovereign to reign in the three realms simultaneously. ... Charles I (19 November 1600–30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625, until his death. ... The eldest son of the reigning monarch ofEngland/Great Britain is traditionally invested with the title of Prince of Wales. ... James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (June 19, 1606 - March 9, 1649), Scottish nobleman, son of James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton, and of the Lady Anne Cunningham, daughter of the earl of Glencairn, was born on 19 June 1606. ... The Mausoleum of the Dukes of Hamilton sits in the grounds of the old Hamilton Palace in Hamilton The Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1643. ...

Mijtens introduced a new naturalism into the English court portrait, but after the arrival in England of the far more distinguished Anthony Van Dyck in 1632 he was superseded as the leading court portraitist, and in 1634 he returned to the Netherlands. He subsequently worked primarily as an art dealer, acquiring works for the Earl of Arundel among others. Only four paintings survive from this final period. Self Portrait With a Sunflower Sir Anthony (Antoon) van Dyck (*March 22, 1599 - December 9, 1641) was a Flemish painter — mainly of portraits — who became the leading court painter in England. ...

External links

• Mijtens' works at the National Portrait Gallery
• Works at The Met