Sisters, sisters.... - the daughters of the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, attributed to Jacob van Doort, 1609

 

Princess Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (23 June 1593 - 25 March 1650), later Duchess of Saxony, later Duchess of Saxe-Altenberg, at the age of sixteen.

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Princess Hedwig of  Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (19 February 1595 - 26 June 1650), later Duchess of Pomerania, at the age of fourteen. 

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Princess Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (8 July 1596 - 1 September 1643), later Margravine of Brandenburg, at the age of thirteen.

The three elegant young ladies are the daughters of Heinrich Julius (15 October 1564 - 30 July 1613), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by his second marriage to Elizabeth of Denmark (25 August 1573 - 19 June 1626), daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark. The couple had ten children together, seven of whom survived to adulthood. (The duke also had a daughter from his first marriage, Dorothea Hedwig; married to Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, she died the same year these portraits were completed.)

Alright, why not throw the brothers in while we're at it! 

The five portraits here represent the couple's children still living at home in 1609; they had two older children - their daughter, Sophie Hedwig, had married two years previously - and their two youngest had not yet been born. All five of these portraits are included in the Royal Collection.

Prince Christian of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (20 September 1599 - 16 June 1626), at the age of ten.

Prince Rudolph of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (15 June 1602 - 13 June 1616), at the age of seven.

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Jacob van Doort (or Doordt; ? - 1629, Stockholm), painter of Flemish or Dutch extraction active from 1606 to his death in 1629. Much of his work was for the courts of Denmark and Sweden, in particular the court of Christian IV of Denmark. Little is known of his life; he may have been the son of Peter van der Doort of Antwerp and the brother of Abraham van Doordt. He may have been born in Hamburg and he spent his career working in Northern Europe including, possibly, a few visits to England.

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In addition to the beautifully restrained palette of the ladies' portraits, I really admire the superbly handled drapery of their gowns.