Sebastiaan Mattheus Sigismund de Ranitz (1846-1916) - Pastoraal landschap met rustende personen

Beautiful 19th-century, lightly impressionistically painted pastoral landscape with resting figures. The painter of this watercolor is none other than Jonkheer Sebastiaan Mattheus Sigismund de Ranitz (1846-1916), who, besides being a talented artist, is mainly known as the presumed father of the later Queen Wilhelmina (and thus the great-great-grandfather of the current King Willem-Alexander).
The watercolor on paper is in good condition with very beautiful (autumn) colors. Signed and dated in the lower left and nicely framed. The dimensions of the watercolor are 25x35cm.




Jonkheer Sebastiaan Mattheus Sigismund de Ranitz (1846-1916), the presumed father of Queen Wilhelmina.

The biological paternity of King Willem III, who was already 63 at the time, is in question. It is believed that he was unable to father children later in life due to syphilis. Rumors suggest that those close to Willem III sought a suitable candidate to father an heir for Emma. The choice reportedly fell on Jonkheer Sebastiaan Mattheus Sigismund de Ranitz (1846-1916), the son of Sebastiaan Mattheus Sigismund de Ranitz (1804-1884) and Anna Margaretha Jacoba Frans. He had risen to the rank of ordonnans officer in the Dutch army, serving Prince Alexander and later as Captain of Infantry. In that capacity, he was appointed private secretary and aide-de-camp to King Willem III. After the king's death, he became Emma’s aide-de-camp and was later ennobled as Jonkheer by Royal Decree. In 1894, Emma proposed him for promotion to Major, but this was refused by the then Minister of War, Schneider (1832-1925). Following a discussion in the council of ministers, De Ranitz was even retired with a pension, due to a verdict pronounced against him by the military court. Queen mother Emma continued to trust her aide-de-camp and personally gifted him a trik trak game she had inherited from her husband, King Willem III. It was also known that Wilhelmina was tone-deaf. This trait is hereditary, yet neither Emma nor Willem III’s family was known to suffer from tone-deafness. Strangely, De Ranitz did have tone-deafness. He was also a talented drawer and painter, and his work bears a strong resemblance to Wilhelmina’s artworks. It is conceivable that this trait, along with creativity and thematic choices, is also hereditary.