Reinier de la haye (1640-1695) - portrait of a lady in front of a park landscape signed r. De la haye on the right on the architectural base. Seated figure of a noble lady, dressed in red, with a good assortment of jewels, one hand resting on a balustrade on which stands a vase with a bouquet of flowers. To the left, in the background, a park landscape, presumably belonging to the lady's property. Oil on canvas. 45 x 37.5 cm. Reinier de la haye was born in the hague around 1640 as the son of hendrik de la haye and adriana smulders. He was trained by the leading portrait painter adriaen hanneman, and in 1662 he was as member of the guild of st luke, suggesting he was working as an independent master by then. He moved to utrecht around 1669, where he became a member of the guild in that year, and from 1672 to 1674 he worked in antwerp. De la haye painted a small number of still-lifes, elegant genre scenes and equally elegant portraits of members of the upper echalons of society. Unlike his teacher hanneman, who painted life size portraits, de la haye generally produced small portraits, meticulously painted, which were increasingly favoured towards the end of the seventeenth century. Surviving portraits by de la haye are comparatively rare and show his great talent at depicting rich silks and fabrics. Paintings by de la haye are preserved in many leading museums all over the world, including the centraal museum in utrecht, the museum der stadt gotha and the staatliches museum in schwerin. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no official proof of authenticity, however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity issues arising from misattribution