John Verelst
John Verelst,born and known also asJohannesorJan(29 October 1648 – 7 March 1734), was aDutch Golden Agepainter. He was the youngest of three sons of the painterPieter Hermansz Verelst;all became known as painters.
He is known for his portraits, especially of the men known as theFour Mohawk Kings,who visited Queen Anne in 1710 from the Province of New York in North America. (One of these men has since been identified correctly instead as a chief of theMohican,a different tribe.)
Biography
[edit]Johannes Verelst was born inThe Hagueas the youngest son ofPieter Hermansz Verelst,a painter, and his wife. His older brothers were Simon and Herman. All three of these sons became painters, studying with their father from when they were young.[1]
After becoming established, Johannes Verelst migrated to London in 1691, where he specialized in oil portraits and became known as John Verelst. Due to Simon using a slanting "S" in his signatures, flower still lifes in the manner of Simon Verelst are sometimes attributed to Johannes, while some of Johannes' portraits are attributed to Simon.[1]
Mohawk Kings
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To seal a treaty with the British, four Indigenous delegates (called "Indian kings" by the British)--three Haudenosaunee and one Anishinaabe--visitedLondonin 1710.[2]Queen Annewas so impressed by these tall, muscular foreign visitors that she had Verelst paintoilcolorsof them in 1710 (seeFour Mohawk Kings). This was one of the first paintings ofaboriginal people.The chiefs had come voluntarily and were well treated as diplomats and entertained. They wereTee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row(Hendriks), Emperor of the Six Nations;Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row(John), King of Generethgarich;Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow(Brant) of the Maquas; he was the grandfather ofJoseph Brant,a chief during the Revolutionary War and namesake forBrantford, Ontario;andEtow Oh Koam(Nicholas), King of the River Nation. They had been persuaded to come to England byPeter Schuyler,actingGovernor of New Yorkin 1709 and some-time mayor ofAlbany.They stayed one month and returned without having contracted any of the endemic European diseases.[3]
The four portraits were later transformed into mezzotint prints by artists, including Anglo-French printmaker John Simon (1675–1751), and sold widely.[2]The four portraits of these First Nations chiefs were initially displayed atKensington Palace,then moved toHampton Court Palace(where they appeared in an inventory of 1835). They do not appear in any later inventories and must be assumed to have left the Royal Collection. Paintings of the four kings by John Verelst appear in the collection ofLord PetreatThorndon Hallby 1851. These paintings were purchased by thePublic Archives of Canadawith aid from the Secretary of State in 1977.[4]They were featured on aCanadian postage stampin 2010.[5]
Family tree
[edit]| Pieter Hermansz Verelst1618–1678 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Herman Verelst1641–1702 | Simon Pietersz Verelst1644–1721? | John Verelst1648–1734 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cornelis Verelst1667?–1734 | Maria Verelst1680–1744 | William Verelst1704–1752 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^abJohannes Verelst,RKD
- ^abBrandon, Laura (2021).War Art in Canada: A Critical History.Toronto: Art Canada Institute.ISBN978-1-4871-0271-5.
- ^Nelle Oosterom, "Kings of the New World",Canada's History,vol. 90, no. 2 (April/May) 2010, p. 26.
- ^Robertson, BruceThe portraits: an iconographical study(1985). Garratt, John G.; Robertson, Bruce (eds.).The Four Indian Kings.Ottawa: Public Archives Canada. p. 139-140.
- ^Canada Post,details/en détail,vol. 19, no. 2 (April–June 2010), pp. 10-11.
External links
[edit]
See also Richmond P. Bond,Queen Anne's American Kings(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952).
Laura Brandon,War Art in Canada: A Critical History(Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2021).
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