GOSSART, Jan
(b. ca. 1478, Maubeuge, d. 1532, Middelburg)

The Three Children of Christian II of Denmark

1526
Oil on oak panel, 34 x 46 cm
Royal Collection, Windsor

The boy in the centre has been identified as John (1518-1532), prince of Denmark. The two girls are his sisters, Dorothea (1520-1562) and Christina (1522-1590). They were the children of Christian II, king of Denmark, and Isabella of Austria, sister of Emperor Charles V. Christian fled Copenhagen in 1523 and went into exile in the Low Countries, England, and Germany. Isabella died in 1526 and was buried in Ghent. Christian had commissioned from Gossart designs for her tomb. The triple portrait was painted in 1526, the children appear to be wearing mourning attire for their mother.

There are a number of versions of this triple portrait, paintings and drawings as well, but the painting in the Royal Collection is by far the best.