{{short description|Dutch-born Scottish portrait artist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} [[File:Portrait of James I of England and James VI of Scotland.jpg|thumb|right|200px|James VI, attributed to Adrian Vanson<br />Edinburgh Castle]] thumb|right|James VI, dated 1583, Dunfermline Carnegie Trust '''Adrian Vanson''' (died c. 1602) was a portrait artist who worked for James VI of Scotland.
==Family and artistic background== Adrian was probably born in Breda, the son of Willem Claesswen van Son by Kathelijn Adriaen Matheus de Blauwverversdochter. His uncle or cousin Peter Mattheus or Matteusen was a painter in London.<ref>Murphy, Nathan W. and Leslie Mahler, "The King, Vanson, and de Colonia Ancestors of William Fitzhugh of Virginia," ''The American Genealogist'', 88 (2016), pp. 152-157.</ref> [[File:Mary Stuart James.jpg|thumb|right|Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI, a double portrait made in 1583, Blair Castle.<ref>David A. H. B. Taylor, "Damnatio Memoriae: Iconography", Steven J. Reid, ''Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots'' (Edinburgh, 2024), p. 49: James Kirk, "Reformation and Revolution, Kirk and Crown", Jenny Wormald, ''Scotland Revisited'' (London, 1991), p. 85.</ref>]]
Peter Matheeusen in his 1588 will left his cousin Adrian Vanson, named as "Adryan van Zont", portraits of his parents, Jacob and Agnes, and of himself, with a book ''The Arte concerning Lymning''. Amongst the other bequests, Matheussen left money to the miniaturist Isaac Oliver and the painter Rowland Lockey, best known as a copyist working for Bess of Hardwick and her son the Earl of Devonshire.<ref>Edward Town, 'A Biographical Dictionary of London Painters 1547-1625' (Walpole Society, 2014), pp. 140-1, 183.</ref><ref>Lorne Campbell, ''The early Flemish pictures in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen'' (Cambridge, 1985), p. xxxiii.</ref>
In Edinburgh he signed his name "Adrian Van Son".<ref>Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596', ''Scottish History Society Miscellany XVI'' (Woodbridge, 2020), p. 88.</ref><ref>Kate Anderson, "Certane Picturis of His Majesties Visage: Tracing James VI's Succession Campaign through Visual and Material Display and Dissemination", ''British Art Studies'' 29 (December 2025), fig. 13. {{doi|10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-29/kanderson}}</ref> His relative or brother Abraham Vanson was in Edinburgh working as a goldsmith, and married Jonet Gilbert, a daughter of the goldsmith Alexander Gilbert and niece of the goldsmith and financier Michael Gilbert.<ref>Duncan Thomson, ''Painting in Scotland: 1570-1650'' (Edinburgh, 1975), p. 25: ''Roll of Edinburgh Burgesses'' (Scottish Record Society, 1929), p. 503: Will of Michael Gilbert, NRS CC8/8/23 p. 564.</ref> Abraham Vanson's daughter Helen was baptised on 4 May 1595.<ref>'Extracts from Register of Baptisms, Edinburgh', ''Northern Notes and Queries'' 4:16 (1890), p. 174.</ref> [[File:Agnes Douglas Countess of Argyll.jpg|right|thumb|Agnes Douglas, attributed to Adrian Vanson<br />National Galleries of Scotland]] [[File:Portrait of Sir John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, attributed to Adrian Vanson.jpg|thumb|right|John Maitland of Thirlestane, attributed to Vanson, National Trust]] [[File:Adrian Vanson (d. before 1610) (attributed to) - Anne of Denmark (1574–1619), Queen of James VI and I - PG 1110 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg|thumb|right|Anne of Denmark, 1595, circle of Adrian Vanson]]
==Career in Scotland== === Portraits and engravings of George Buchanan and John Knox === [[Image:Knoxbezaicones.jpg|thumb|right|180px|John Knox from Beza's ''Icones'', after Adrian Vanson.<ref>Duncan Thomson, ''Painting in Scotland: 1570-1650'' (Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 1975), p. 26 no. 11.</ref>]] Portraits of John Knox and George Buchanan were sent to Geneva in November 1579 for inclusion as woodcuts in Theodore Beza's ''Icones'' (1580), but arrived too late for the book.<ref>David A. H. B. Taylor, "Damnatio Memoriae: Mary, Queen of Scots' Iconography", Steven J. Reid, ''Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots'' (Edinburgh, 2024), p. 35.</ref> According to a letter sent by the king's tutor Peter Young on 13 November 1579, the pictures were contained in a cylindrical box or case described as "''una pyxide''". Young also described Knox's appearance. A pair of later round portraits of James VI and Anne of Denmark attributed to Vanson fit together like a box, and perhaps this form may be related to Young's use of the word "''pyxide''".<ref>P. Hume Brown, ''John Knox: A Biography'', 2 (London, 1895), pp. 290, 321–324: Duncan Thomson, ''The life and art of George Jamesone'' (Oxford, 1974), pp. 46–47.</ref>
Adrian Vanson's first recorded works for James VI in Scotland were two pictures to be sent to Theodore Beza in Geneva, for which he was paid £8-10s in June 1581.<ref>Duncan Thomson, ''Painting in Scotland'' (Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 1975), pp. 25–26, 28–29; citing NRS E21/62 f.135v: P. Hume Brown, ''John Knox: A Biography'', 2 (London, 1895), p. 321.</ref> The woodcuts of Knox and James VI published in Simon Goulart's 1581 edition of the ''Icones'' are thought to follow Vanson's portraits. Another woodcut image of George Buchanan, not used in the ''Icones'', but appearing in other works, has been attributed to Arnold Bronckorst.<ref>Cameron, J. K., "Further information on Portraits of George Buchanan", ''Scottish Historical Review'', vol. 42, no. 134, part 2 (Oct. 1963), pp. 135-142: Thomson (1975) does not discuss the ''Buchanan''.</ref> A portrait of John Knox held by the University of Edinburgh has been attributed to Adrian Vanson.<ref>Jane Dawson, ''John Knox'' (Yale, 2015), pp. 6, 322 fn. 7: [https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/11988229.true-face-of-john-knox-is-discovered-hanging-on-wall-of-university-library/ "True face of John Knox is discovered hanging on wall of university library", ''The Herald'', 30 April 2003]</ref>
=== Lord Seton's painter === A letter sent to George Bowes in 1579 describes a Flemish painter making a portrait of James VI at Stirling Castle. The portrait was to be sent to England for Elizabeth I.<ref>Cuthbert Sharp, ''Memorials of the Rebellion of 1569'' (London, 1840), p. 392: Patrick Fraser Tytler, ''History of Scotland'' vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1842), p. 418: Duncan Thomson, ''Painting in Scotland 1570–1650'' (Edinburgh, 1975), p. 9.</ref> Arnold Bronckhorst was appointed the king's painter on 19 September 1581. It seems that both Vanson and Bronckhorst worked at the Scottish court, and surviving portraits and records also suggest the presence of other unknown artists.<ref>Gordon Donaldson, ''Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1982), p. 80 no. 474.</ref>
Vanson may perhaps have been "Lord Seton's painter", who was recorded drawing portraits of "his majesteis visage" for coins at the mint in Edinburgh in January 1581/1582, to be used by Thomas Foulis.<ref>Duncan Thomson, ''The life and art of George Jamesone'' (Oxford, 1974), p. 47: Duncan Thomson, ''Painting in Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1975), pp. 25, 31: Robert Cochran-Patrick, ''Records of the coinage of Scotland'', 1 (Edinburgh, 1876), p. 248: National Records of Scotland, E21/62 f169v.</ref> Lord Seton had served as a diplomat and had various European contacts, and his third son John Seton of Barns had joined the household of the Earl of Leicester in England 1575.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 120.</ref>
=== 1583 and the double portrait === In October 1582, Mary, Queen of Scots, wrote to the French ambassador Michel de Castelnau in cipher code about a new type of portrait of James VI that he had sent her, presumably differing from the pictures made by Arnold Bronckorst.<ref>George Lasry, Norbert Biermann, Satoshi Tomokiyo, "Deciphering Mary Stuart's lost letters from 1578-1584", ''Cryptologia'', 47:2 (February 2023), p. 56. {{doi|10.1080/01611194.2022.2160677}}</ref> Probably in or after 1583, a French engraver, Jean Rabel, made engravings of a portrait resembling the paintings of James VI at Edinburgh Castle and at Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries (dated 1583). A portrait of this type may have been made for a potential French bride for James, such as the Protestant Catherine of Bourbon and the Catholic Christina of Lorraine.<ref>Susan Doran, David Hasberg Zirak-Schmidt, Paulina Kewes, [https://britishartstudies.ac.uk/issues/29/transnational-image-traffic/ "Visualising James VI and I in Continental Europe"] in ''British Art Studies'', 29 (December 2025).</ref> The surviving paintings are attributed to Vanson, Bronckhorst, or an unknown artist. Rabel and Thomas de Leu worked for the French court and engraved Mary's portrait,<ref>David A. H. B. Taylor, "Damnatio Memoriae: Mary, Queen of Scots' Iconography", Steven J. Reid, ''Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots'' (Edinburgh, 2024), p. 44.</ref> the portraits of Castelnau and his wife Marie de Bochetel, and the Castelnau coat of arms.<ref>[https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collections/objects/47558 Engraved portrait of James VI by Jean Rabel, Princeton]</ref><ref>[https://art.rmngp.fr/fr/library/artworks/jean-rabel_jacques-vi-d-ecosse 1580s Engraved portrait of James VI by Jean Rabel, RMN]</ref><ref>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/james-vi-and-i-15661625-as-a-youth-124481 James VI and I as a Youth, Dunfermline]</ref><ref>[https://www.vads.ac.uk/digital/collection/NIRP/id/29391/ Portrait of James VI of Scotland, VADS]</ref> A double portrait of Mary and James, related to plans for their rule in "association" and dated 1583, has a similar depiction of James' face and bonnet.<ref>Clare Jackson, ''The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI and I'' (Allen Lane, 2025), p. 95: Kate Anderson, ''Art & Court of James VI & I'' (Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 2025), p. 84.</ref><ref>David A. H. B. Taylor, "Damnatio Memoriae: Mary, Queen of Scots' Iconography", Steven J. Reid, ''Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots'' (Edinburgh, 2024), p. 49.</ref>
=== King's painter === Adrian Vanson succeeded Arnold Bronckhorst as "King's painter" in Scotland in May 1584.<ref>Thomson, Duncan, ''Painting in Scotland 1570-1650'' (Edinburgh, 1975), p. 25.</ref> His appointment and yearly fee of £100 was confirmed by privy seal letter on 20 August 1584.<ref>''Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1982), p. 396 no. 2287.</ref> When he was made a burgess of Edinburgh on 30 December 1585,<ref>''Roll of Edinburgh Burgesses'' (Scottish Record Society, 1929), p. 503.</ref> it was hoped he would teach his craft to apprentices.<ref>''Extracts from the records of the burgh of Edinburgh: 1573-1589'' (Scottish Burgh Records Society, 1882), p. 446.</ref> No records of apprentices, or a workshop have been found. Vanson did not join the Edinburgh craft of Mason and Wrights, which welcomed painter-glaziers. However, technical investigation of portraits thought to be in the Vanson ''oeuvre'' reveal a variety of technique, pointing to the work of more than one artist, either in his or other workshops.<ref>Kate Anderson, 'Jewels in Sixteenth-Century Scottish Portraits', Anna Groundwater, ''Decoding the Jewels: Renaissance Jewellery in Scotland'' (Sidestone Press: NMS, 2024), p. 148.</ref>
Attributed portraits include James VI; Anne of Denmark; Patrick Lyon, Lord Glamis; Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean; Agnes Douglas, Countess of Argyll.<ref>Thomson, Duncan, ''Painting in Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1975), pp. 25-31.</ref><ref>''Painters in Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 99.</ref> Vanson's ''James VI'' of circa 1585 survives at Edinburgh castle. Some pictures are known through later copies or imitations, including a portrait of James Anstruther originally painted in 1591.<ref>Duncan Thomson, ''Painting in Scotland, 1570-1650'' (Edinburgh, 1975), p. 57.</ref>
===The only painter in Edinburgh=== Mary, Queen of Scots requested a full size portrait of James VI drawn from life in April 1586. In May, a French ambassador in Scotland, the Baron d'Esneval, promised to get Mary, Queen of Scots a copy of a recent portrait of James VI from the only painter in Edinburgh, presumably meaning Vanson.<ref>David A. H. B. Taylor, "Damnatio Memoriae: Mary, Queen of Scots' Iconography", Steven J. Reid, ''Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots'' (Edinburgh, 2024), p. 40.</ref><ref>Agnes Strickland, ''Letters of Mary Stuart'', vol. 3 (London, 1843), p. 194: A. Labanoff, ''Lettres de Marie Stuart'', vol. 6 (London, 1844), pp. 270-1, Mary had asked d'Esneval; "Je vous prie me recouvrer de mon filz ung sien pourtraict en grand, faict sur sa personne propre," Chartley 30 April 1586.</ref> James sent Peter Young and Colonel William Stewart to Denmark to discuss his potential marriage on 20 July.<ref>William Boyd, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1914), pp. 336 no. 362, 566 no. 635.</ref> It is sometimes suggested that the picture at Edinburgh Castle, which has an inscription in German, was made by Vanson for this embassy or a similar purpose. Another portrait now at Falkland Palace is dated 1586 and may have been made to sent abroad.<ref>See 'information from Philip Mould' in external links.</ref>
=== Maitland and the hidden portrait of Mary === A portrait of John Maitland of Thirlestane by Vanson at Ham House was valued at £2 in 1683.<ref>Alastair Laing, 'Fitting Rooms to Pictures', Christopher Rowell, ''Ham House'' (Yale, 2013), pp. 417, 427 no. 87.</ref><ref>[http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1139943 'Sir John Maitland', National Trust, NT 1139943]</ref> Examination by Caroline Rae in 2016 showed that it was painted over an image of Mary, Queen of Scots.<ref>[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/revealing-ham-houses-hidden-portrait-of-mary-queen-of-scots Revealing Ham House’s hidden portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots]</ref>
=== Banners and heraldry === Vanson also painted heraldry on banners for the king's trumpeters, and ceremonial spears and banners and painted the Danish royal arms on banners for the coronation of Anne of Denmark.<ref>Susan Doran, ''From Tudor to Stuart: The regime change from Elizabeth I to James I'' (Oxford University Press, 2024), p. 47.</ref> He also painted a taffeta banner or pencel for the Hammermen craft for Anne's Entry to Edinburgh.<ref>James Thomson Gibson-Craig, [https://archive.org/details/papersrelative2600geneuoft/page/16 ''Papers Relative to the Marriage of King James the Sixth of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1836), Appendix p. 16]</ref><ref>Maureen Meikle, "Anna of Denmark's Coronation and Entry", Julian Goodare & Alasdair A. MacDonald, ''Sixteenth-Century Scotland'' (Brill, 2008), p. 283.</ref>
King James referred to portraiture and the art of the painting by alluding to Saint Luke, patron of painters, in his sonnet ''To the Queene'': :Your loving lookes may make me calme to be :How oft yow see me have an heavie hart :Remember then sweete Doctour on your art.<ref>Marie Loughlin, Patricia Brace, Sandra Bell, ''The Broadview Anthology of Sixteenth-Century Poetry and Prose'' (Broadview, 2012), p. 597: David M. Bergeron, ''Royal Family, Royal Lovers'' (University of Missouri, 1991), p. 53.</ref>
=== Gold portrait medallions === James Melville of Halhill mentioned that gold medals with the portrait of James VI were given to Danish diplomats after the coronation of Anne of Denmark in 1590.<ref>Thomas Thomson, ''Memoirs of his own life by Sir James Melville'' (Edinburgh, 1827), p. 373.</ref> Painted portraits of Prince Henry were given to ambassadors at his christening in August 1594.<ref>''Register van Holland, 1593–1594'' (not dated), p. 683, "schilderye": James Ferguson, [https://archive.org/details/papersillustrati01ferg/page/162/mode/2up ''Papers illustrating the history of the Scots brigade in the service of the United Netherlands'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1899), p. 163]</ref>
James VI had gold medals with his and Anna of Denmark's portraits made, which he gave to the ambassadors after the baptism.<ref>James Ferguson, ''Papers illustrating the history of the Scots brigade'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1899), p. 170.</ref> The medals presumably followed portrait patterns provided by Vanson, and James VI gave an example to Vanson worth 20 gold crowns on 3 October 1594.<ref>Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, "James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596", ''Scottish History Society Miscellany'', XVI (Woodbridge, 2020), pp. 83, 88.</ref>
The goldsmith George Heriot was paid for a gold chain with the portrait of James VI, a medal or a miniature, which was given to an envoy of the Duke of Mecklenburg.<ref>Duncan Thomson, ''The life and art of George Jamesone'' (Oxford, 1974), p. 47 fn.15.</ref> The courtier Magdalen Livingstone owned a locket with a portrait of Anne of Denmark "raised" in gold.<ref>National Records of Scotland, Will of Magdalen Livingstoun, CC3/3/3 pp. 784-6.</ref> In England, James commissioned medallions with his portrait from the artist Nicholas Hilliard.<ref>Elizabeth Goldring, ''Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artist'' (London, 2019), pp. 256-9.</ref>
=== Vanson's ship === Adrian Vanson was involved in a shipping case in May 1594. A "Flemish barque" was impounded at Montrose on 26 April, suspected of bringing money to aid the Catholic earls, and brought to Leith.<ref>Anne L. Forbes, ''Trials and triumphs: the Gordons of Huntly in sixteenth-century Scotland'' (John Donald, 2012), pp. 186–187.</ref> The English diplomat Robert Bowes heard that the sailors had offered to pay for a pilot and for lodgings in Montrose with Spanish money, raising suspicions, and a messenger had carried letters and gold from the ship to Aberdeen and Huntly Castle.<ref>Annie Cameron, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 329 no. 261, 332 no. 262: ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', 2 (London, 1858), p. 649 (April 1594, TNA SP52/53 f.43).</ref><ref>''HMC Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Earl of Salisbury'', 4 (London, 1892), p. 523: ''Historie of James the Sext'' (Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club, 1825), p. 327.</ref>
Vanson acted with the Dutch diplomat Adrian Damman to free the Flemish sailors. They made a bond of £1000 Scots to release the skipper, Hendrick Michelsoun of Middelburg, Zeeland, from the Tolbooth of Edinburgh into house arrest.<ref>David Masson, ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 1592-1599'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1892), pp. 145, 622.</ref> Vanson and Damman also put up a bond of £2000 "making caution" for Peter Herimansoun and Peter Mattiesoun, two sailors who had arrived in the ship at Montrose. The sailors were to remain in Edinburgh, Canongate, or Leith until the issues were settled. The Privy Council gave orders that the ship was to remain at Leith.<ref>David Masson, ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 1592-1599'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1892), p. 622.</ref>
Robert Bowes called the ship a "Flanders pink", and was convinced that the gold had boosted the confidence of the Earl of Huntly and his allies.<ref>Annie Cameron, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 356 no. 274, 375 no. 289.</ref> He came to believe that a Spanish aristocrat had landed at Montrose as a potential diplomat. At the end of July 1594, James VI told Bowes that he written to Elizabeth I about the passengers on the Montrose ship and another suspicious ship that had recently come to Aberdeen. The second ship brought the Jesuit James Gordon to Scotland.<ref>Annie Cameron, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 356 no. 274, 392 no. 306: Thomas Birch, ''Memoirs of the reign of Queen Elizabeth'', 1, p. 182.</ref>
Adrian Vanson seems to have become the owner of a ship called ''The Sun''. On 20 November 1594, James VI issued a privy seal letter or "privilege" declaring that his painter was the owner of the ship and the Master was John Johnson, a resident in France. The Latin document was addressed to ''Hadrianum Wansonium pictorem nostrum''.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/sim_monthly-magazine_1798-07_6_34/page/44/mode/2up "Curious Privilege", ''The Monthly Magazine'', vol. 6 no. 34 (London, July 1798), pp. 44–45]</ref> It belonged to an antiquary John Pinkerton in 1799 and its present location is unknown.<ref>John Pinkerton, ''The Scottish Gallery'' (London,1799), p. 6.</ref> In 1593, a John Johnson was recorded as Master of ''The Sampson'' of "Olre in Holland" and made a claim for a lost cargo of oil, wine, salt, and Spanish money. In 1589, John Johnson was Master of the ''Jonas'' of Amsterdam.<ref>Richard Bruce Wernham, ''List and Analysis of State Papers, Foreign Series, Elizabeth I, 1589–1596'' (London: HMSO, 1993), p. 100 no. 78 (H.31, TNA SP84/50 f.69): J. R. Dasent, ''Acts of the Privy Council'', 18 (Norwich, 1899), p. 27.</ref>
It is not clear if the "Flemish barque" was ''The Sun'' (or ''The Sampson'') mentioned in Vanson's "privilege" in November. The incident at Montrose prompted Elizabeth I to send James VI a generous subsidy of £3000 in July 1594 with a further £2000 in November.<ref>Julian Goodare, "James VI's English Subsidy", Julian Goodare & Michael Lynch, ''The Reign of James VI'' (Tuckwell, 2000), pp. 115–116.</ref>
===Anne of Denmark=== Christian IV of Denmark requested full length portraits of James VI and Anne of Denmark to add to a series of pictures of his relatives in October 1597. It is not known if this request was granted.<ref>William Dunn Macray, 'Report on Archives in Denmark', ''46th Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records'' (London, 1886), p. 36: National Records of Scotland, NRS SP13/128 (Latin).</ref><ref>Kate Anderson, ''Art & Court of James VI & I'' (Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 2025), p. 15: "Chronological list of documents forming part III of the National Manuscripts of Scotland", ''Appendix to the 34th Report of the Deputy Keeper'' (London, 1873), p. 302.</ref> The execution of Archibald Cornwall in April 1601 for attaching royal portraits to the gallows suggests that pictures of the king and Anne of Denmark were common household objects in Edinburgh.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FqVBAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA349 Robert Pitcairn, ''Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland'' vol. 2 part 2 (Edinburgh, 1833), pp. 349-351]: ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 13 part 2 (Edinburgh, 1969), pp. 809, 814.</ref> Miniature portraits were also made in Edinburgh, the stock of a goldsmith, the younger John Mosman, in 1593 included a "tablet" or locket with the portraits of James VI and Anne of Denmark worth £57 Scots.<ref>National Records of Scotland, Wilsoun, Susanna, CC8/8/25, p. 322.</ref>
The ambassador Edward Bruce brought portraits of King James and Prince Henry to England in January 1600.<ref>A. Teulet, ''Relations Politiques'', vol. 4 (Paris, 1862), pp. 225–226.</ref> In December 1601 Vanson was paid £20 Scots for a portrait of Anne of Denmark. Around the same time the goldsmith George Heriot made a chain with a miniature portrait of James as a diplomatic gift for an ambassador from the Duke of Mecklenburg, the queen's uncle.<ref>Clare Farrow and Martin Kemp, "Humanism in the Visual Arts, 1530–1630", John MacQueen, ''Humanism in Renaissance Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1990), p. 41: ''Painters in Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 99.</ref><ref>Jemma Field, ''Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts'' (Manchester, 2020), pp. 33, 157.</ref> Although Vanson was still active, the Duke of Lennox later claimed that he had not been able to find a portrait painter in Scotland to send pictures of the royal family to the Venetian ambassador.<ref>Susan Doran, ''From Tudor to Stuart: The regime change from Elizabeth I to James I'' (Oxford University Press, 2024), p. 69: Horatio Brown, ''Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1603-1607'', vol. 10 (London, 1900), p. 72 no. 102.</ref>
=== Arch in London === In 1604 Vanson worked with other painters on a triumphal arch for the king's ceremonial entry to London, commissioned by the Dutch community.<ref>Jemma Field, ''Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts'' (Manchester, 2020), p. 157: Edward Town, 'A Biographical Dictionary of London Painters 1547-1625' (Walpole Society, 2014), p. 183.</ref> The arches and entry were planned for the coronation in 1603 but the project was deferred a year because of the plague in London.<ref>Sybil M. Jack, "A Pattern for a King's Inauguration: The Coronation of James I in England", Parergon, 21:2 (July 2004), p. 83.</ref>
The text of a commemorative publication with engravings of the Dutch arch, the ''Beschryvinghe vande herlycke Arcus Triumphal Coninck Iacobo'' (Middelburg, 1604), by Conraet Jansen identifies him as "Adrian van Sond" of Breda, painter to the king. Collaborators included the painter Martin Droeshout, and Michael Droeshout (father of the engraver Martin Droeshout) may have made the published engravings in the ''Beschryinghe''.<ref>Gervase Hood, "Netherlandic Community in London", Juliette Roding, ''Dutch and Flemish Artists in Britain, 1550-1800'' (Primavera, 2003), pp. 49–50: Ole Peter Grell, ''Calvinist Exiles in Tudor and Stuart England'' (Ashgate, 1996), p. 167.</ref> Another source attributes the iconographic program, the choice of images and texts on the arch, to Assueros Regemonter, Christopher de Stuer, and Jacob Cool.<ref>Gervase Hood, "A Netherlandic Triumphal Arch for James I", Susan Roach, ''Across the Narrow Seas'' (British Library, 1991), p. 73.</ref>
== Death == The date of his death is unknown. After Adrian Vanson's death, in 1610 and 1616 his widow Susanna petitioned the king for outstanding payments.<ref>Michael Apted & Susan Hannabuss, ''Dictionary of Painters in Scotland'' (SRS, Edinburgh, 1978), pp. 98-99: Charles Rogers, ''Earl of Stirling's Register of Royal Letters'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1885), p. 9.</ref>
==Marriage, family, and the Flemish community== Adrian Vanson married Susanna de Colonia at Dordrecht on 31 March 1577. She became an active business woman in Edinburgh.<ref>''Painters in Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 98.</ref> Her brother was the portrait painter Adam de Colone. Their father Louis Jansz. Colonia was a saddle maker.<ref>[https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/17825 'Adam de Colonia (I)', RKD database]</ref>
Their children included: * Adrian Vanson, who was christened on 19 October 1595, the witnesses were the Flemish ambassador Adrian Damman de Bystervelt and Adrian Bowdowingis, a clockmaker. On 26 October 1600 Adrian Bowdowingis christened his son Adrian, and Adrian Damman and Adrian Vanson were witnesses.<ref>''Painters in Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 98, citing National Records of Scotland, Old Parish Records, Edinburgh, vol. 1, fols. 9, 32, 59, 101: ''Northern Notes and Queries'', 4:16 (1890), p. 174.</ref> * Susanna Vanson, * James Vanson * Frederick Vanson, baptised 2 September 1601, the witnesses were Guiliams Vansone and Peter Ziber.<ref>"Extracts from the Register of Baptisms, Edinburgh", ''Northern Notes and Queries'', 5 (Edinburgh, 1891), p. 90.</ref>
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100613060453/http://nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4%3A322/?initial=V&artistId=237&artistName=Adrian%20Vanson&submit=1 Adrian Vanson at the National Galleries of Scotland] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727090947/http://vads.bath.ac.uk/large.php?uid=86723&sos=1 ''James VI'' by Adrian Vanson, at Edinburgh Castle, (Historic Scotland)] * [https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/38550.html Medal commemorating the marriage of James VI and Anne of Denmark, Royal Museums Greenwich] * [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10866703s/f246.item. Copies of D'Esneval's letters mentioning portraits of James VI sent to Denmark, Fr. 4736, ff. 319, 320], Bibliothèque nationale de France * Kate Anderson, "Certane Picturis of His Majesties Visage: Tracing James VI’s Succession Campaign through Visual and Material Display and Dissemination", ''British Art Studies'' 29 (December 2025). {{doi|10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-29/kanderson}} * [https://nationalheritagescienceforum.wordpress.com/2017/03/16/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold-technical-examination-of-jewellery-and-gold-brocade-in-a-royal-portrait-attributed-to-adrian-vanson/ Caroline Rae, 'All that glitters is not gold', technical examination of a 1595 portrait of James VI] * [https://mqs.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/2020/09/29/identity-and-authenticity-a-newly-discovered-contemporary-portrait-of-mary-queen-of-scots/ Identity and authenticity: a newly discovered contemporary portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots] * [https://www.codart.nl/art-works/portrait-of-mary-queen-of-scots-discovered-under-painting-adrian-vanson/ 'Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots Discovered Under Painting by Adrian Vanson', CODART] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110614170317/http://www.historicalportraits.com/InternalMain.asp?ItemID=827 Information on the Edinburgh Castle Vanson from Philip Mould Ltd] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110608180806/http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4%3A322/result/0/3385?initial=C&artistId=4627&artistName=Adam%20de%20Colone&submit=1 ''Margaret Graham'' by Adam de Colone, National Galleries of Scotland] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100613164238/http://nationalgalleries.org/index.php/collection/online_az/4%3A322/results/0/8775/ ''James Erskine, 6th earl of Buchan'' by Adam de Colone, National Galleries of Scotland] *{{Art UK bio}}
==Footnotes== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{S-start}} {{succession box | title=Painter at the Scottish royal court | before=Arnold Bronckorst | after=Jacob de Wet | years=1581–1602 }} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control (arts)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanson, Adrian}} Category:16th-century Flemish painters Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Scottish portrait painters Category:Flemish portrait painters Category:16th-century Scottish painters Category:Scottish male painters Category:Renaissance artists Category:Year of death unknown Category:Court painters Category:Court of James VI and I Category:1600s deaths