Reinier De La Haye (1640-1695) - Portrait Of A Lady In Front Of A Park, Signed

Reinier de la Haye (1640-1695) - PORTRAIT OF A LADY IN FRONT OF A PARK. Signed R. de la Haye on the right on the architectural base. Seated figure of a noble lady, dressed in red, adorned with numerous jewels, one hand resting on a balustrade on which rests a vase containing a bouquet of flowers. To the left, in the background, a park, presumably owned by the lady. Oil on canvas. 45 x 37.5 cm. Reinier de La Haye was born in The Hague around 1640. The son of Hendrik de La Haye and Adriana Smulders, he trained under the renowned portrait painter Adriaen Hanneman and, by 1662, was a member of the Guild of Saint Luke, which suggests that he was then working as an independent master. He settled in Utrecht around 1669, where he became a member of the guild that same year, and worked in Antwerp from 1672 to 1674. De La Haye painted a few still lifes, elegant genre scenes, and equally elegant portraits of members of high society. Unlike his teacher Hanneman, who painted life-size portraits, De La Haye generally produced small, meticulously painted portraits, which became increasingly popular towards the end of the 17th century. The surviving portraits of De La Haye are relatively rare and demonstrate his great talent for depicting silks and sumptuous fabrics. Paintings by De La Haye are held in many prestigious museums around the world, including the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, the Museum der Stadt Gotha, and the Staatliches Museum in Schwerin.