GERMAN SCHOOL, CIRCA 1600 Portrait of Johann Hermann, Count and Elector Palatine inscribed 'V. G. G. / Johann Hermann Pfalz / graf und kurfurst' (upper right) oil on panel, unframed 8 1/8 x 6 in. (20.6 x 15.2 cm.) The inscription 'V.G.G.' on lots 5 and 6 stands for V[on] G[ottes] G[naden], which means by Grace of God. Comparable portraits with the same inscription can be found in Gotischen Haus, Wörlitz, Germany and Jagdschloss, Letzlingen, Germany. The portraits are by different hands and include sitters from smaller aristocratic families and European Royalty. It appears that it was popular in Germany around 1600 to commission a series of small portraits of members of the family amongst important rulers, some of which are copies after great artists of the time such as Lucas Cranach the younger and Francois Clouet.