Paul van Somer I

Who was Paul van Somer I?

Paul van Somer, also known as Paulus van Somer, was a Flemish artist who arrived in England from Antwerp during the reign of King James I of England and became one of the leading painters of the royal court. He painted a number of portraits both of James and his consort, Queen Anne of Denmark, and of nobles such as Ludovic Stuart, earl of Lennox, Elizabeth Stanley, Countess of Huntingdon, and Lady Anne Clifford. He is sometimes designated as "Paul van Somer I" to distinguish him from the engraver of the same name who was active in England between 1670 and 1694.

Paul van Somer is in some ways an elusive figure: not much is known about him, and his art is rarely written about;. According to Karel van Mander he was the brother of Barend van Someren, who married and brought back the daughter of Aert Mijtens after he returned from Italy. Van Mander did not mention whether Paul had accompanied his brother to Italy or not, and only remarked that Paul was still a bachelor. According to the RKD Paul lived during the years 1612-1614 in the house of Steven de Gheyn in Leiden, during 1616 in Brussels, and after that moved to London, where he became court painter.