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Van Ertborn aged 21, by Jean-Baptiste Greuze

Posthumous bust of van Ertborn by Jozef Geefs, 1849

Florent van Ertborn (4 April 1784 - 28 August 1840) was a Dutch and Belgian politician and art collector.

Biography

Florentius Josephus, Knight van Ertborn was born in Antwerp in 1784 in a wealthy, aristocratic family, the only son of Emmanuel van Ertborn and Catharina de Witte. As a yong man, he made a Grand Tour to Italy and France, becoming acquainted with the art of the Old Masters. In Antwerp, he was a member of the commission responsible for the distribution of artworks which had returned from France after the defeat of Napoleon, and helped with the reopening of the museum of the local Fine Arts Academy.

He was involved with politics from an early age, and was friends with Jan Frans Willems, one of the leaders of the early Flemish Movement. He became a member of the provincial council of Antwerp in 1817, mayor of Antwerp in 1818, and governor of the Province of Utrecht in 1828. As mayor, he imposed the new language laws, making Dutch the official government language of Antwerp. Van Ertborn was bilingual French-Dutch. He was a chamberlain to King William I of the Netherlands. He moved to Dordrecht and married in 1830 the 18-year-old Baroness Adriana Eleonora Sophia van Heeckeren-Wierse. That same year 1830 Belgium became independent, and van Ertborn laid down his functions. He got reelected as mayor of Antwerp in 1831, but as a proponent of the reunion with the Netherlands refused and stayed in Dordrecht until his death in 1840. He is buried in Antwerp.

Van Ertborn was an avid collector of art, mainly 15th and 16th century paintings from Flanders and neighbouring countries. These were barely collected or studied at the time, usually judged inferior to the Baroque art of the 17th century, and due to the end of the French Revolution there was a large supply of works on the market. He was advised by the German art historian and collector Sulpiz Boisserée and one of his friends, the painter Mattheus Ignatius van Bree, restored some of the works. They also, together with Jan Adriaan Snijers, formed the acquisitions committee of the Antwerp Museum. He legated all 115 works to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, which was at the time still the museum of the local Academy of Fine Arts.

Collection

As described in the 1894 catalogue of the museum collection

1. Pieter Aertsen, Calvary: Current attribution Jan Van Amstel[1]
2. Fra Angelico, Saint Romuald[2]
3. Antonello da Messina, Calvary[3]
4. Antonello da Messina, Portrait of a Man: Current attribution Hans Memling[4]
5. Jerome Bosch, Temptation of Saint Anthony[5]
6. Dirk Bouts, The Blessed Virgin[6]
7. Dirk Bouts, Saint Christopher: current attribution Quinten Massys[7]
8. Paul Bril, The Prodigal Son; current attribution Lucas van Valckenborch[8]
9. Petrus Christus, Saint Jerome: current attribution "anonymous"[9]
10. Francis Clouet, Francois II, dauphin de France; current attribution Jean Clouet[10]
11. Lucas Cranach the Elder, Adam and Eve[11]
12. Lucas Cranach the Elder, Charity[12]
13. Herri met de Bles, The Repose in Egypt: current attribution Gerard David[13]
14. Joachim Patinir, Flight into Egypt[14]
15. Victor Dünwege and Heinrich Dünwege, The Holy Family; current attribution Derick Baegert[15]
16. Albrecht Dürer, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony[16]
17. Cornelis Engelbrechtsz, Saint Leonard (reverse: Saint George): current attribution "anonymous"[17]
18. Cornelis Engelbrechtsz, Translation of the body of Saint Hubert (reverse: Saint Hubert): current attribution "anonymous"[18]
19. Jean Fouquet, Virgin and Child[19]
20. Conrad Fyol, Adoration of the Magi plus its two wings: current attribution Master of Frankfurt[20]
21. Giotto, Saint Paul: current attribution "anonymous"
22. Giotto, Saint Nicholas: current attribution "anonymous"[21]
23. Jan Gossaert: The Four Marys returning from the Tomb of Christ; current attribution Gerard David[22]
24. Jan Gossaert: The Just Judges, current attribution Gerard David[23]
25. Jan Gossaert: Ecce Homo: current attribution "anonymous"[24]
26. Jan Gossaert: Portrait of a Woman; current attribution Catharina van Hemessen[25]
27. Jan Gossaert: Virgin and Child: current attribution Pauwels Coecke van Aelst[26]
28. Jan Gossaert: Margaret of Austria, current attribution Bernard of Orley[27]
29. Hans Holbein the Younger: Desiderius Erasmus': current attribution Quinten Massys[28]
30. Hans Holbein the Younger: Portrait of a Man[29]
31. Lucas van Leyden: The Ring[30]
32. Lucas van Leyden: David and Saul[31]
33. Lucas van Leyden: Saint Luke[32]
34. Lucas van Leyden: Saint Mark[33]
35. Lucas van Leyden: Saint Matthew[34]
36. Lucas van Leyden: Adoration of the Magi triptych: current attribution Master of the Antwerp Adoration[35]
37. Justus of Ghent: Nativity: current attribution Master of Frankfurt[36]
38. Justus of Ghent: Benediction: current attribution Master of 1499[37]

Notes

Category:1784 births Category:1840 deaths Category:Art collectors from Antwerp Category:Mayors of Antwerp, Belgium Category:King's and Queen's Commissioners of Utrecht