Elisabeth Bas
Encyclopedia
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. She was the wife of Jochem Hendrickszoon Swartenhont
Jochem Hendrickszoon Swartenhont
Jochem Hendricksz Swartenhont was a Dutch naval officer in the navy of the Dutch Republic from the 17th century....
.
Swartenhont was a captain in the navy of the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
and a military hero. Jochem Swartenhont was painted, wearing his military decorations by Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy (1588-1655) - Pickenoy also painted Joachem's daughter Maria. During the Twelve Years' Truce
Twelve Years' Truce
The Twelve Years' Truce was the name given to the cessation of hostilities between the Habsburg rulers of Spain and the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic as agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609. It was a watershed in the Eighty Years' War, marking the point from which the independence of the...
(1609-1621) Jochem was out of work and set up a tavern in Amsterdam named after the Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
. It was on the corner of the Nes and the Pieter Jacobszstraat and was patronised by politicians, artists and writers. After Jochem's death Elisabeth sold it, becoming rich (she left 28,000 guilders on her death).
Jochem died in 1627, leaving his wife and four children. Three of these children died before their mother. The eldest daughter, Maria, had had three children and so these were adopted by Elisabeth on Maria's death - one of them, Maria Rey, later commissioned a portrait of Elisabeth from Ferdinand Bol
Ferdinand Bol
Ferdinand Bol was a Dutch artist, etcher, and draftsman. Although his surviving work is rare, it displays Rembrandt's influence; like his master, Bol favored historical subjects, portraits, numerous self-portraits, and single figures in exotic finery.The street Ferdinand Bolstraat in Amsterdam was...
. It is now in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, where it is known as Elisabeth Bas and attributed to Ferdinand Bol (1616 - 1680), though the identity of the sitter is held to be in doubt by the Rijksmuseum. Until 1911 it was thought to be by Rembrandt, but that year the Rembrandt expert Abraham Bredius
Abraham Bredius
Abraham Bredius , was a Dutch art collector, art historian and museum curator.-Life:He travelled widely visiting various art collections in his youth, and worked at the Dutch Museum for History and Art before becoming director from 1889 to 1909 of the Mauritshuis...
re-attributed it to Bol. Such a re-attribution was hotly contested by the collector and art historian Cornelis Hofstede de Groot
Cornelis Hofstede de Groot
Cornelis Hofstede de Groot , was a Dutch art collector, art historian and museum curator.-Life:He was the first academically schooled art historian of the Netherlands, receiving his training in Leipzig, which is why much of his work was published in German, most notably his lengthy 10-part...
(1836-1930), but is now accepted. A brand of cigars was named after this painting in the 20th century, produced at a factory at Boxtel
Boxtel
Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.This is the origin of the van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant....
and using the painting as a logo, and their bands and the boxes for cigars of this brand are still collectors' items.