Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt

{{short description|Dutch painter and draftsman (1566–1641)}} {{Use British English|date=May 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}

{{Infobox artist | name = Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt | image = Michiel Jansz Mierevelt, by Willem Jacobsz Delff (cropped).jpg | alt = Black and white engraving of Van Mierevelt wearing a collar and mantle | caption = Portrait of Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt ({{circa|1610–25}}) by [[Willem Jacobsz. Delff]] | birth_name =  | birth_date = 1 May 1566 | birth_place = [[Delft]], [[Habsburg Netherlands]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1641|6|27|1566|5|1|df=yes}} | death_place = Delft, [[Dutch Republic]] | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | nationality = | education = | alma_mater = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | movement = | spouse = | awards =  | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website =  | native_name = | native_name_lang = |module={{Infobox person|child=yes | signature = Mierevelt, Michiel van 1567-1641 05 Signature.jpg}} }}

'''Michiel Janszoon''' ({{abbr|abbr.|abbreviated}} '''Jansz.''')<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Michiel-Janszoon-van-Mierevelt|title=Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt – Dutch painter|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2016-03-12}}</ref> '''van Mierevelt''' ({{IPA|nl|miˈxil ˈjɑnsoːɱ vɑ ˈmiːrəvɛlt, - ˈjɑns fɑ -}};{{efn|In isolation, ''Janszoon'' and ''van'' are pronounced {{IPA|nl|ˈjɑnsoːn|}} and {{IPA|nl|vɑn|}}, respectively.}} also spelled '''Miereveld''' or '''Miereveldt'''; 1 May 1566 – 27 June 1641) was a Dutch painter and draftsman of the [[Dutch Golden Age]].<ref>[https://rkd.nl/en/artists/56017 Michiel van Mierevelt], [[Netherlands Institute for Art History]]. Retrieved on 17 April 2015.</ref>

==Biography== Van Mierevelt was born and died in [[Delft]], as a son of a [[goldsmith]], who apprenticed him to the copperplate engraver [[Hieronymus Wierix]]. He subsequently became a pupil of Willem Willemz and Augusteyn of Delft, until [[Anthonie van Montfoort]] (Houbraken calls him ''Antony Blokland''<ref>[http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/houb005groo01_01/houb005groo01_01_0020.htm Michiel Mierevelt biography] in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by [[Arnold Houbraken]], courtesy of the [[Digital library for Dutch literature]]</ref>), who had seen and admired two of Mierevelt's early engravings, ''Christ and the Samaritan'' and ''Judith and Holofernes'', invited him to enter his school at [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=424}}

He registered as a member of the [[Guild of St. Luke]] in [[The Hague]] in 1625.<ref name=RKD>[https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/56017 RKD entry on Mierevelt]</ref> Devoting himself first to [[still life]]s, he eventually took up [[portrait painting|portraiture]], in which he achieved such success that the many commissions entrusted to him necessitated the employment of numerous assistants, by whom hundreds of portraits were turned out in factory fashion. Today over 500 paintings are or have been attributed to him.<ref name="RKD"/> The works that can with certainty be ascribed to his own brush are remarkable for their sincerity, severe drawing and harmonious colour, but comparatively few of the two thousand or more portraits that bear his name are wholly his own handiwork. So great was his reputation that he was patronized by royalty in many countries and acquired great wealth. The king of Sweden and the count palatine of [[Palatinate-Neuburg|Neuburg]] presented him with golden chains; [[Albert VII, Archduke of Austria]], at whose court he lived in [[Delft]], gave him a pension; and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] vainly endeavoured to induce him to visit the English court.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=424–425}}{{sfn|Gilman|Peck|Colby|1905|p=464}}

Though Mierevelt is chiefly known as a portrait painter, he also executed some mythological pieces of minor importance. Many of his portraits have been reproduced in line by the leading Dutch engravers of his time. He died at Delft.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=425}}

The [[Rijksmuseum]] in [[Amsterdam]] has the richest collection of Mierevelt's works, chief of them being the portraits of William, [[Philip William, Prince of Orange|Philip William]], Maurice, and Frederick Henry of Orange, and of the count palatine [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine|Frederick V]]. At the [[Mauritshuis]] in [[The Hague]] are the portraits of four princes of the house of Orange, of Frederick V as [[king of Bohemia]], and of [[Louise de Coligny]] as a widow. Other portraits by him are at nearly all the leading continental galleries, notably at Brunswick (3), Gotha (2), Schwerin (3), Munich (2), Paris (Louvre, 3), Dresden (4), Berlin (2), and Darmstadt (3). The town hall of Delft also has numerous examples of his work.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=425}}

==Legacy== Many of his pupils and assistants rose to fame. The most gifted of them were [[Paulus Moreelse]], [[Jan Antonisz. van Ravesteyn]],{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=425}} [[Daniel Mijtens]], [[Anthonie Palamedesz.]], [[Johan van Nes]], and [[Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet]].<ref name=RKD /> His sons Pieter (1596–1623) and Jan (died 1633), and his son-in-law [[Jacob Delff]],{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} probably painted many of the pictures which go under his name. His portrait was painted by [[Anthony van Dyck]] and engraved by Jacob Delff.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=425}}

== Works == <gallery heights="200" mode="packed" caption="Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt's works"> File:Portret van Philips Willem (1554-1618), prins van Oranje Rijksmuseum SK-A-256.jpeg|Philip William File:Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt 001.jpg|[[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange]] File:Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt - Ambrogio Spinola.jpg|[[Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases|Ambrogio Spinola]] File:Ambrogio Spinola dli 0613700282.jpg|Engraved after Michiel van Miereveld, ''Ambrogio Spinola'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=hAmbrogio Spinola |url=https://library.nga.gov/permalink/01NGA_INST/1p5jkvq/alma991606333804896 |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=library.nga.gov |language=en}}</ref> 1623, engraving, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Image Collections |url=https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250417061119/https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections.html |archive-date=2025-04-17 |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=www.nga.gov |language=en}}</ref> File:Dessau, Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, Michiel van Mierevelt, Bildnis eines unbekannten Mannes.jpg|Portrait of an unknown man, 1630, [[Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau]] File:Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt - Portret van een vrouw.jpg|Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt, ''Portrait of a woman'', [[Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon]] File:Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt - Portrait of a Woman - WGA15622.jpg|Portrait of a Woman File:Michiel-Jansz van Mierevelt (attr) Bildnis einer jungen adeligen Dame.jpg|Portrait of a Young Woman File:Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, Double Portrait of a Husband and Wife with Tulip, Bulb, and Shells.jpg|''Double Portrait of a Husband and Wife with Tulip, Bulb, and Shells'' oil on panel painting by Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, 1609 File:Der junge Friedrich V. C-B 011.jpg|[[Frederick V of the Palatinate]], 1613 File:Van Mierevelt RM annotated.jpg|[[Autopsy]] </gallery>

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Sources== *{{Cite NIE |wstitle=Mierevelt, Michiel Jansze |year=1905 |volume=13 |page=469 }}

'''Attribution:''' *{{EB1911 |wstitle=Mierevelt, Michiel Jansz van |volume=18 |pages=424–425}}

==External links== {{commons category|Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt}} *{{Art UK bio}} *[http://www.pubhist.com/person/749/michiel-jansz-van-mierevelt Works and literature on Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt] *[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/65202/rec/17 Vermeer and The Delft School], a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mierevelt, Michiel Jansz van}} [[Category:1566 births]] [[Category:1641 deaths]] [[Category:Dutch draughtsmen]] [[Category:Dutch Golden Age painters]] [[Category:Dutch male painters]] [[Category:Painters from The Hague]] [[Category:Painters from Delft]] [[Category:Dutch portrait painters]]