John Verelst

John Verelst

1648 - 1734

John Verelst, born and known also as Johannes or Jan, was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He was the youngest of three sons of the painter Pieter Hermansz Verelst; all became known as painters.

He is known for his portraits, especially of the men known as the Four Mohawk Kings, who visited Queen Anne in 1710 from the Province of New York in North America. (One of these men has since been identified correctly instead as a chief of the Mohican, a different tribe.)

Johannes Verelst was born in The Hague as the youngest son of Pieter Hermansz Verelst, a painter, and his wife. His older brothers were Simon and Herman. All three of these sons became painters, studying with their father from when they were young.

After becoming established, Johannes Verelst migrated to London in 1691, where he specialized in oil portraits and became known as John Verelst. Due to Simon using a slanting "S" in his signatures, flower still lifes in the manner of Simon Verelst are sometimes attributed to Johannes, while some of Johannes' portraits are attributed to Simon.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023