This is via
J.R.'s Art Place on Facebook, which consistently features great art. In this case, there is a fascinating story about Louise Hollandine's journey from Protestantism to Catholicism.
Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate was the daughter of Frederick V of the Palatinate and King of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart. Raised in a Protestant household in the Netherlands, she showed great artistic talent. Her family arranged for her to study under one of the greatest artists of the time, Gerard van Honthorst.
The painting shown here is a self-portrait by her circa 1650. It was in 1657 that she, for unknown reasons, fled the Netherlands with the aid of her aunt Henrietta Marie de Bourbon, the widow of Charles I of England. In France she converted to Roman Catholicism and entered the Cistercian Abbey of Maubuisson. In retaliation, she was left out of her mother's will.
In 1664 she became Abbess of Maubuisson. She continued painting after entering the Abbey, mostly of religious subjects.
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