This is Maria Elisabeth Clara, Countess van den Bergh. Together with 13 other portraits, Jan Herman van Heek discovered this portrait in the round tower on the Huis Bergh outer baily. It turned out to be one of the best of that find. When Maria Elisabeth Clara was but a 3-month old baby, her father arranged for her to get married to her nephew, Albert van den Bergh. The wedding was to take place when she would have reached the age of 15. She did not live long at Huis Bergh. She did not live long full stop. At the age of only 23 she died while giving birth to her fifth child. And just like the other four before it, this child did not survive its birth. The people on the portraits around this one are all relations of Maria Elisabeth Clara. To the left, her father, Count Herman van den Bergh on his deathbed. Opposite, her aunt and mother in law Francoise de Ravenel. Look out for Count Hendrik and Countess Anna and other members of the illustrious Van Den Bergh family.

For more information on Maria Elisabeth Clara’s last and tragic pregnancy, press A For more information on the clothes she is wearing in this painting, press B

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