Skip to content Loading
Portrait of a Gentleman by Daniël Mijtens
Jack Gills by Daniël Mijtens
Charles I (1600–1648) by Daniël Mijtens
Henry Wriothesly (1573–1624), 3rd Earl of Southampton by Daniël Mijtens
Charles I (1600–1649), King of England by Daniël Mijtens
Portrait of a Man by Daniël Mijtens

Where to See Daniël Mijtens

21 museums worldwide

About Daniël Mijtens

Dutch · 1590–1647

court portraitist to two English kings until Van Dyck arrived and displaced him in a single season

Read full biography →

Portrait of Daniël Mijtens
Museums21
Countries7
Most worksNational Trust, Swindon · 14 works
Loading map…

Where to see Daniël Mijtens

Ranked by works you can see in person.

View all 21 museums

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where can I see Daniël Mijtens's work?
    Daniël Mijtens's paintings can be found in numerous collections, both public and private. Many galleries exhibit his work, including the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands; the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen in Berlin; and the National Gallery in London. Mijtens's paintings are also held at the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), the Museum Van Loon (Amsterdam), the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis (The Hague), the Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem), the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), and the Centraal Museum (Utrecht). Outside the Netherlands, his works can be viewed at the Koninklijk Museum van Schone Kunsten (Antwerp), the Paleis Het Loo Nationaal Museum (Apeldoorn), the National Gallery of Scotland (Edinburgh), and the Alte Pinakothek, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Munich). In the United States, museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art[3] (New York), the Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, Connecticut), and the Currier Museum of Art (Manchester, New Hampshire) also hold examples of his art.
  • What should I know about Daniël Mijtens's prints?
    Daniël Mijtens, or Mytens, was a Dutch-born painter who spent much of his career in England. He is best known for portraiture, and he helped introduce aspects of Dutch Golden Age painting to the British court. Mijtens was born in Delft in about 1590. He trained in The Hague, and by 1618 he was working in London. He painted James I, and he became a favourite of Charles I in the 1620s. His early style was somewhat stiff, but it loosened over time, influenced by artists such as Anthony van Dyck. Mijtens's work is characterised by careful attention to detail, particularly in costume, and a developing sense of naturalism. Although primarily a painter, Mijtens also produced designs for printmakers. These prints, often portraits, circulated his images to a wider audience. Some of these prints were produced as individual works, while others appeared in books. These prints provide valuable records of his painted compositions, and they offer insight into the dissemination of courtly portraiture during the early Stuart period. Mijtens returned to the Netherlands in the 1630s, and he died in The Hague in 1647 or 1648.
  • Why are Daniël Mijtens's works important today?
    Daniël Mijtens (1590-1647/48) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter who spent a significant part of his career in England. He helped introduce the Dutch portrait style to the British court. Mijtens's importance lies in his role as a transitional figure. Before his arrival, portraiture in England was dominated by artists like Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger and Paul van Somer, whose styles were somewhat static. Mijtens brought a new naturalism and informality to his portraits, influenced by contemporary Dutch painting. His early works, such as his 1621 portrait of the Duke of Lennox, show a stiffness of pose and attention to detail typical of earlier portraiture. However, as his career progressed, his style became more fluid. He adopted a greater sense of movement and psychological insight, seen in portraits like that of Charles I. Mijtens's influence can be seen in the work of Anthony van Dyck, who eventually succeeded him as the leading court painter. While van Dyck brought even greater sophistication and flair to English portraiture, Mijtens paved the way for this development by modernising the existing style and setting a new standard for realism and characterisation. He provides a valuable link between earlier Elizabethan styles and the later Baroque portraiture of van Dyck.
  • What techniques or materials did Daniël Mijtens use?
    Daniël Mijtens, like many 17th-century painters, likely adhered to established studio practices. These involved using a limited range of colours on the palette, suitable for the specific section of the painting being worked on at that stage. This approach contrasts with later methods where artists employed a full palette to work on the entire painting simultaneously, striving for tonal consistency. Painters in the Baroque era often created paintings in stages, similar to the "giornate" used in fresco painting. After laying in an underpainting, the artist would successively add modulated local colour. This additive technique was connected to the material and economic constraints inherent in oil painting before the introduction of ready-to-use tube colours. The support and materials used by Mijtens probably did not differ significantly from those of his contemporaries. Many painters transitioned from wood panel to canvas during this period, with canvas becoming more popular due to its lower cost, ease of transport, and simpler preparation. The pigments and binding mediums used were also typical for the time and readily available.
  • Who did Daniël Mijtens influence?
    Daniël Mijtens's influence is most apparent in the work of his nephew, also named Daniël Mijtens (c. 1644-1688), and in the career of Anthony van Dyck. Mijtens had an established practice as a portraitist in London, working for the royal family, when Van Dyck arrived in 1632. Van Dyck's fresh Baroque style soon displaced Mijtens's more conservative, Netherlandish approach. According to some accounts, Mijtens recognised Van Dyck's superior talent. He supposedly told Charles I that Van Dyck was a much better painter, and requested permission to return to the Netherlands. Other historians suggest the situation was more complex, with courtly and political factors playing a role in Van Dyck's ascendance. Regardless of the exact circumstances, Van Dyck became the dominant influence on English portraiture for a generation. Mijtens returned to The Hague, where he continued to work, but his earlier impact on British art was somewhat eclipsed by Van Dyck's success. His nephew, Daniël Mijtens the Younger, followed in his uncle's footsteps, painting portraits in a style that reflects both his uncle's training and the broader influence of the Flemish Baroque.
  • Who influenced Daniël Mijtens?
    Daniël Mijtens, a Dutch Golden Age painter, was influenced by several artists and movements. He likely received his initial training within his family; his uncle, Aert Mijtens, was a painter in The Hague. Mijtens's early work shows the influence of Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt, a leading portrait painter in the Netherlands. Mierevelt's style, characterised by its realism and attention to detail, is evident in Mijtens's early portraits. Another important influence was Anthony van Dyck. After van Dyck's brief stay in The Hague in 1621, Mijtens adopted some of the Flemish master's more baroque and elegant approach to portraiture. This is visible in Mijtens's use of more dynamic compositions and a greater emphasis on capturing the sitter's personality. Mijtens also studied the work of other contemporary Dutch painters, such as Cornelis van der Voort and Johannes Verspronck. These artists contributed to the development of Dutch portraiture during the period. Mijtens synthesised these various influences into his own distinctive style, which was popular among the Dutch and English aristocracy.
  • What is Daniël Mijtens's most famous work?
    It is difficult to name a single, definitive most famous work by Daniël Mijtens. He was a prolific portrait painter, and many of his works are well known. Mijtens was active in the Dutch Republic and England. He is known for his portraits of members of the Dutch and English aristocracy. Mijtens was among the first to paint full-length portraits in the Netherlands. He influenced later artists, such as Anthony van Dyck. Mijtens's style is characterised by attention to detail, particularly in the rendering of fabrics and jewellery. He often depicted his sitters in elegant poses and fashionable attire. Mijtens's portraits provide valuable insight into the appearance and customs of the 17th-century elite. Identifying a single 'most famous' work is subjective, as different portraits may be more or less well known depending on the viewer and collection.
  • What style or movement did Daniël Mijtens belong to?
    Daniël Mijtens was a Dutch portraitist who worked in England. He was born in Delft, and by 1610, he had joined the painters' guild in The Hague. Around 1618, he moved to London, succeeding Paul van Somer as the official portraitist for the British court. In 1623, Charles I, after seeing portraits by Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, and Diego Velázquez in the Spanish royal collection, sent Mijtens to Flanders to study this style of court portraiture. Mijtens's portraits, such as those of George Calvert, James Hamilton, and Charles I, display elegant poses and costumes, with a red curtain above to emphasise their social standing, a technique borrowed from Rubens and van Dyck. These elements are associated with the Baroque style, which was emerging across Europe at this time. By 1632, Anthony van Dyck had arrived in England, replacing Mijtens as the leading court painter. Consequently, around 1633, Mijtens returned to the Netherlands, where he became an art agent for Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel.

Sources

Where to See guide aggregates verified holdings of Daniël Mijtens's works across the following collections.

  1. [1] museum Weston Park Used for: museum holdings.
  2. [2] museum Art Institute of Chicago Used for: museum holdings.
  3. [3] museum Metropolitan Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  4. [4] book Ekkart, Rudolf E. O., author, Dutch portraits : the age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals Used for: biography.
  5. [5] book Milam, Jennifer Dawn, Historical Dictionary of Rococo Art Used for: biography.
  6. [6] book Masterpieces of western art : a history of art in 900 individual studies from the Gothic to the present day Used for: biography.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-02. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

Keep exploring

Back to Daniël Mijtens
Your cart
Your cart is empty
Have an account? Log in to check out faster.
Continue shopping Continue shopping
Cart total £0.00 GBP
Product image Product information Quantity Product total