May 23, 1669

Joris Abrahamsz van der Haagen (born about 1615 and buried May 23 1669 ) was a Dutch painter who carried on his father's artistry. He is called a landscape painter and here is an example titled "The Hague Forest with a View of Huis ten Bosch Palace."




Van der Haagen also did an interior with a cat at the edge of the family circle. But before we look at that, a bit of modern history concerning the palace view above. The painting caught the eye of the Dutch Queen in 1960, but she returned it to the proper owners when she realized it was looted by the German Nazis. Here is a news account:
The Dutch royal family will return a painting in its collection after discovering that the Nazis confiscated it from Jewish owners, the palace said on Tuesday.
The discovery was made by independent research commissioned by the palace in 2012 into art objects acquired since the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933.
"A Jewish collector was forced in 1942 to hand over the painting 'Haagse Bos with view over Huis Ten Bosch Palace' by Joris van der Haagen to the (Nazi) bank Lippmann, Rosenthal & Co in Amsterdam," the report said.
After the war and the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands "the painting ended up with a Dutch art dealer where queen Juliana bought it in 1960 without knowing about its history," it said.
A royal art association has made contact with the descendants of the original owner with an eye to restitution, it said, adding that no further details would be provided because of privacy concerns.

The Dutch story makes a pleasant contrast to the foot draggiing, wait-for-the-heirs-to-die attitude which often seems to characterize the German and Austrian governments. 

And here is a Joris Van der Haagen cat (lower left corner).