Lot 75: Johan de la Rocquette , ? circa 1640 - in or after 1694 The Hague a portrait of a lady, standing three-quarter length, wearing an elegant brown dress, pearl jewellery and a green and white feathered headdress, next to a dog oil on canvas

signed and dated lower left: DLR ( in compendium) oquette/ f 1669 oil on canvas

measurements note 106.6 by 92.7 cm.

Anonymous sale, Antwerp, Herck, Michaux, 6/8 April 1925, lot 46, for 1400 francs to Van den Broek (as dated 1660).

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
Johan de la Rocquette was recorded in The Hague between 1658 and 1694, where he joined the Confrerie Pictura and was mentioned as a student of Martinus Lengele (d. 1668). He is known for having painted portraits and landscapes, but when he joined the army as a captain, his artistic career came to an end.υ1
Just a handful of portraits are known by this master, including a signed and dated portrait of Mary of Orange, now in the Paleis Noordeinde (inv. no. 311, dated 1662). Comparing these paintings, the correspondence in the linear and rather schematic handling of the folds in the drapery, as well as the somewhat contrived pose of the hands with the elongated fingers becomes evident. The overall effect is that of a highly refined representation with a well balanced colour scheme of brown and greenish hues. 1. E. Buijsen, Haagse Schilders in de Gouden Eeuw. Het Hoogsteder Lexicon van alle schilders werkzaam in Den Haag, 1600-1700, Den Haag/Zwolle 1998, p. 323.