Portrait of Floris van Egmond (1469-1539)

In 1518 Floris van Egmond, Count of Buren, became stadholder of Holland, Zeeland and West Friesland, and the following year he sat for Jan Gossaert. Gossaert lingers over the fabrics, white damask sleeves, a doublet of gold brocade, a broad collar of sable. On a black velvet ribbon hangs a small golden ram, the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the knightly order led by the Habsburgs. Until 1516 its members had to wear the badge on a heavy gold chain, so the ribbon itself helps to date the picture. His granddaughter Anna married William of Orange in 1551, bringing the title of count into the house of Orange, and by 1675 the portrait hung in the family castle at Buren. Today it belongs to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and has been on loan here in The Hague since 1948.