JAN VAN DER VAART (DUTCH 1653-1727)PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG BOY (PROBABLY THE HON. LAURENCE SHIRLEY), C. 1696Oil on canvas127 x 101.6cm (50 x 40 in.)Provenance:(Probably) 1st Earl of Ferrers (thence by descent) (Probably) Cheatle Auction, Staunton Harold Hall, 17 - 18 June 1834 (lot 48)Private Collection, USAJan van der Vaart was born in Haarlem in 1653 where he trained under the local artist Thomas Wyck. By 1674 he had moved to England and was working as a painter of still-life pictures and small landscapes with figures, very much in the tradition of his Dutch training. It was at this time that van der Vaart painted one of his most celebrated works, the Trompe l'oeil violin and bow hanging on a door, in the Devonshire Collection at Chatsworth. From about 1685, van der Vaart was painting draperies for Willem Wissing, the finest example of their collaboration is the portrait of Theresa Stuart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (National Portrait Gallery, London). After Wissing's death in 1687, van der Vaart continued his workshop and occasionally collaborated with the German artist Johann Kerseboom.From the early 1690s, van der Vaart worked almost exclusively for Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers, for whom he painted multiple portraits, including an impressive group portrait of the Earl and Countess with their four eldest children. It is almost certainly whilst van der Vaart was at Staunton Harold, the seat of the 1st Earl Ferrers, that this portrait was painted. It is most likely a depicting of the young Hon. Laurence Shirley in the guise of Cupid painted at the age of 2 or 3. Robert was married twice and had a total of 27 children, although Laurence did not inherit his father's titles, his son, who was also named Laurence, went on to become the 4th Earl Ferrers. The 4th Earl was a particularly violent man and after beating his rent collector Johnson, he shot him in the chest, resulting in his trial and then execution for murder. He was the last Peer in Britain to be hanged after a trial.