View of Huis ten Bosch Palace
by COMPE, Jan ten, Oil on canvas, 61 x 89 cm
Frederik Hendrik (1584-1647), Prince of Orange, became stadholder in 1625 - initially of five provinces and later of seven. The prince was an important patron of the arts and a man who commissioned buildings of royal status. He built several palaces, including the palace of Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, which was originally intended as a modest country house in the woods for his wife, Amalia van Solms. Presently it is one of the three official residences of the Dutch royal family.