Jan Anthonisz van Ravesteyn

The Hague 1570 - 1657

Jan van Ravesteyn was a productive and respected portrait painter from The Hague, especially favoured by the court of the Stadhouder. The portrait painters Jacob van Delff and Michiel van Mierevelt from Delft are mentioned as Ravesteyn's teachers and he is also believed to have visited Italy in his youth.

The style of Ravesteyn's portraits is traditional and straightforward although perhaps a little stereotyped. Unlike his teacher Mierevelt, Ravesteyn did not really seek out the inner reflections of his models but rather sought to give them an appearance of dignity by emphasizing the external signs of rank.

Jan Anthonisz van Ravesteyn belonged to a large family of artists. His brothers Anthonis and Arnold also worked as portrait painters in The Hague at the same time, and their works cannot be easily differentiated.