Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden (1594-1632)12
Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden (1594-1632)1
Painted by an artist of the Dutch School
The painting shown here is possibly an oval version of the full-length portrait given to the 3rd Marquis of Hamilton by the sitter himself and featuring in Inventory M4/20 as item 94. In 1631, Gustavus Adolphus was leading the Protestant armies in the Thirty Years' War when Hamilton joined him as a volunteer, with a force of 6000 men. The two met for the first time that September at Werben, on the banks of the River Elbe, Gustavus welcoming the Marquis warmly. A series of cordial letters in Latin from the Swedish King is preserved among the Hamilton Archives.
Unfortunately, the 3rd Marquis's subsequent campaign was a disaster. He was present at the siege of Magdeburg but he was totally inexperienced in military matters, soon there were accusations of incompetence and, when his force was decimated, Gustavus refused him a new commission to raise more men. After fifteen months, completely disillusioned with army life, Hamilton asked permission to return home and this was granted with alacrity. Charles I welcomed him back as a hero, blaming Swedish jealousy for all the criticism. Gustavus was killed shortly afterwards at the Battle of Lutzen.
The gift of the portrait presumably came in the early days of their acquaintance, possibly before the Marquis went to Germany. Inventory M4/20 leaves the name of the artist blank, the 1850s inventory erroneously gives it as Van Dyck, but the 1876 Inventory and the 1882 Christie's Sale Catalogue, no doubt correctly, identify him as Miereveldt. The whereabouts of the full-length painting is unknown, but this oval portrait was acquired for the Hamilton Collection in the twentieth century because of Gustavus's connections with the family.
As a full length the painting is listed in the following inventories:
Hamilton Inventory M4/20 Entry 94
Inventory of 7 June 1759 M4/48 Entry 50
1882 Illustrated Priced Catalogue Page 21 Cat 71, attributed to Mireveldt
The portrait is also mentioned in the following inventories with an unspecified length
Hamilton Inventory M4/21/ the twenty sixth case
Hamilton Inventory M4/22/ - 'An Inventory of the Pictures that are Rolled [Up] This is 26 Case'
Hamilton Inventory M12/1 Page 5 Line 2 - 'In the Drawing Room
near Her Grace’s [3rd Duchess’s] Bedchamber'
Erroneously attributed to Van Dyke in an 1850s Inventory (Volume 1228)
Probably correctly attributed to Mireveldt in Inventory of 1876 - Page 82
