A Life in the Service of Hesse-Kassel
Caspar van der Borcht was a painter originally from the Netherlands. By at least 1576, he served as a court painter to the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel. He was part of a circle of Dutch artists in the service of Landgrave Wilhelm IV, working alongside figures such as the painter Jost vom Hoff and the sculptor Wilhelm Vernuken. His professional life involved various duties, including decorative paintings. One of his most significant undertakings was his contribution to the decoration of the Güldener Saal in the Kassel Palace.
His career included work on the decoration of the Schloss Wilhelmsburg in Schmalkalden, specifically the ceiling in the dining hall. Records indicate that he also performed works in the Rotenburger Schloss and the Welfenschloss Münden. As a court painter, his annual earnings were reported to include 50 Gulden, 120 Ellen cloth, and various other goods.
The Portraiture of the Golden Hall
During the early 1580s, the Güldener Saal was outfitted with a collection of portraits. Under the direction of Wilhelm IV, court painters including van der Borcht worked to assemble and paint a gallery of approximately 130 portraits of European rulers from the 16th century. These works were part of an extensive series of paintings intended to decorate the hall. While many of the original works from the hall were lost in a fire in 1811, some series of smaller copies or templates have survived. It is believed that many of these surviving pieces originated from the workshops of Jost vom Hoff and Caspar van der Borcht.
