Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Van Somer, Paul
VAN SOMER, PAUL (1576–1621), portrait-painter, was born at Antwerp in 1576. An elder brother, Bernard Van Somer, was entered in the guild of St. Luke at Antwerp in 1588 as the pupil of Philippe Lisart, but there is no trace of Paul Van Somer having become a member of the guild. The two brothers, according to the historian of art, Karel Van Mander, were in 1604 residing at Amsterdam, both in good esteem for portrait-painting and other branches of the art. Paul was then a bachelor, but Bernard had married in Italy the daughter of Arnold Mytens, who was probably related to Daniel Mytens [q. v.], for so many years Van Somer's rival as a portrait-painter in England. It is uncertain when he came over to England. A portrait of Christian IV, king of Denmark, at Hampton Court, is dated 1606, and it is possible that he came over in that king's train, as he seems always to have been the favourite painter of James I's consort, Anne of Denmark, and her household. Van Somer is chiefly known by a number of full-length portraits, both male and female, which are of great interest historically from the carefully rendered details of the costume, resembling very much the portraits by the great Spanish painter, Sanchez Coello. They are sometimes, when not signed, with difficulty distinguished from those by Mytens of a similar character. Speaking generally, those by Van Somer are more freely handled, and are richer in colour, showing a strong predilection for deep reds and browns. Van Somer also frequently introduced a piece of landscape or a view of a building into the background. A portrait of Anne of Denmark in hunting dress, with her dogs, painted in 1617, and now at Hampton Court, has a view of Oatlands in the background, another of the same queen has a view of Inigo Jones's facade at St. Paul's Cathedral. A portrait of James I, painted in 1619–20, also at Hampton Court, has a view of the newly erected banqueting-house at Whitehall in the background. Two interesting portraits of the Earl and Countess of Arundel, in the possession of the Duke of Norfolk, painted in 1618, show views of the earl's picture gallery and collections of marbles. A fine portrait of Henry, prince of Wales, formerly at Blenheim Palace, is in the National Portrait Gallery. Among other important portraits by Van Somer are those of Sir Simon Weston (1608); William Herbert, third earl of Pembroke (1617, engraved by Simon Van de Passe); Henry Wriothesley, earl of Southampton (engraved by Simon Van de Passe); Francis Bacon, viscount St. Albans (at Gorhambury); Sir Thomas Lyttelton (1621, at Hagley); Robert Carr, earl of Ancrum (1619); and others. There is a fine series of paintings by Van Somer at Ditchley, the seat of Viscount Dillon, representing ladies of Anne of Denmark's court. Van Somer died in London, and was buried on 5 Jan. 1621 in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. It has been stated that his descendants remained in London and established a carpet manufactory. A portrait by Van Somer of himself was formerly at Ham House.
It is uncertain whether the mezzotint engravers Jan and Paul Van Somer belonged to this family. Jan Van Somer lived in Amsterdam, but his brother, Paul Van Somer, came to London in 1674, and lived in Newport Street, Soho, where he published many mezzotint engravings, and died in 1694.
[Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, ed. Wornum; Van Mander's Vies des Peintres, ed. Hymans; De Piles's Lives of the Painters.]