Jan van Huysum und der Hof von Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Abstract

In 1900 Friedrich Schlie published seven letters and a receipt by Jan Huysum from the Schwerin archives in "Oud Holland". It was only a fraction of the traces that can be found in Schwerin of van Huysum´s connection with the court of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. This relationship lasted from 1716 when the artist in Amsterdam received the visit of Christian Ludwig, younger brother of the reigning duke, almost until the artist´s death in 1749. The relationship was fueled after Christian Ludwig´s accession to power in 1732 by his eagerness to acquire works by the painter who had since como to fame. In spite of several visits to the artist over a number of years by the hereditary prince and the duke´s chamberlain the three larger works by van Huysum in Schwerin were, in the end, bought at auctions. Only two smaller pendant pieces were ordered directly from the artist by the duke who had to wait for delivery for a considerable number of years. It turned out that the pair was among the last pieces van Huysum painted. The correspondence published without discussion in 1900 only pertains to this order while the present article is aimed at giving the whole scope of the connection of Jan van Huysum to the Schwerin court and the importance of his art there.