Portrait of Frank van Borselen, Lord of Sint Maartensdijk and Stadtholder of Holland, fourth Husband of Jacoba of Bavaria, Countess of Holland and Zeeland (Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut)

anonymous, after c. 1480

Portret van Frank van Borselen (overl. 1470). Vierde echtgenoot van Jacoba van Beieren. Stadhouder van Zeeland. Ten halven lijve, staande achter een houten blad, iets naar links. Om de hals een ketting met het kruis van de Orde van St. Antonius. Rechtboven het familiewapen. Zestiende-eeuwse kopie naar het origineel uit ca. 1435. Pendant van SK-A-498.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-499
  • Dimensionsdepth 5 cm, support: height 64 cm x width 50 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

anonymous

Portrait of Frank van Borselen (c. 1390-1470), Lord of Sint Maartensdijk

Northern Netherlands, after c. 1480

Inscriptions

  • inscription, top centre:heer vra[n]ck va[n] borssel.
  • coat of arms, upper right: quartered, 1 and 4, a gold band on a black field; 2 and 3, three red pillars on a silver field. Crest: a devil’s head

Technical notes

The support consists of two vertically grained oak planks (approx. 27 and 23 cm), 0.6-1.4 cm thick. They are joined together with a lap joint, as are the planks of the pendant (SK-A-498). Dendrochronology has shown that the youngest heartwood ring was formed in 1447. The panel could have been ready for use by 1458, but a date in or after 1472 is more likely. The whitish ground was applied thinly. There is an unpainted edge approx. 0.4 cm wide on all sides, and remains of a barbe along the bottom edge. There is no underdrawing visible to the naked eye. The figure and coat of arms were reserved. Although the golden inscription is partly painted over the underlying green background, it seems that the text was also reserved.

Scientific examination and reports

  • condition report: I. Verslype, RMA, 22 maart 2006
  • dendrochronology: P. Klein, RMA, 28 januari 2009

Condition

Fair. Both planks of the support are cracked. The retouching along the join and the varnish are discoloured

Conservation

  • H.H. Mertens, 1966: lijst geïmpregneerd
  • H.H. Mertens, 1966: lijst hersteld

Provenance

…; recorded at Kasteel Teylingen, Voorhout, 1746 (‘men vindt hier ook nog haar Afbeeldsel en dat van haaren geliefden Frank van Borsselen, in twee Schilderyen’);1Tirion 1746, p. 322. recorded at Kasteel Teylingen, Voorhout, 1793 (‘Op ’t slot van Teilingen worden oude pourtraiten van Jacoba en Frank gevonden’);2Letter Hendrik van Wijn to Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, 1793; see Moes/Van Biema 1909, p. 195. acquired from Kasteel Teylingen by the museum, in or before 1800;3Moes/Van Biema 1909, p. 195. on loan to the Zeeuws Museum, Middelburg, since 2006

Object number: SK-A-499

The artist

Biography

Anonymous, northern Netherlands

Entry

See SK-A-498.

Literature

See SK-A-498.

Download Bibliography (PDF)

Collection catalogues

See SK-A-498.

Citation

M. Bass, 2010, 'anonymous, Portrait of Frank van Borselen (c. 1390-1470), Lord of Sint Maartensdijk, Northern Netherlands, after c. 1480', in J.P. Filedt Kok (ed.), Early Netherlandish Paintings, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20027102

(accessed 7 December 2025 22:54:52).

Footnotes

  • 1Tirion 1746, p. 322.
  • 2Letter Hendrik van Wijn to Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, 1793; see Moes/Van Biema 1909, p. 195.
  • 3Moes/Van Biema 1909, p. 195.