Larger Image
Core Record |
||
| Title | Mary of Modena, Queen Consort of James II | |
| Collection | Victoria Art Gallery, Bath | |
| Artist | Circle of Lely, Peter (Dutch painter and draftsman, 1618-1680, active in England) Previously attributed to Wissing, Willem (Dutch painter, ca. 1656-1687) |
|
| Date Earliest | probably 1673 | |
| Date Latest | probably 1680 | |
| Description | An accomplished bust-length portrait of Mary of Modena (1658-1718), Queen Consort of James II, as a young woman. The sitter is richly attired in a red dress with a brown sash worn over her right shoulder, she wears pearls at her breast and around her neck. | |
| Current Accession Number | BATVG:P:1909.5 | |
| Subject | portrait (Mary of Modena) | |
| Measurements | 59 x 47.5 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Given by Charles Edward Thomas 1909. | |
| Publications | Catalogue of Paintings at Guildhall, The Assembly Rooms and Pump Room Bath, Bath, 1985, p. 10, cat. 32; Wright, C., Old Master Paintings in Britain: An Index of Continental Old Master Paintings executed before c.1800 in Public Collections in the United Kingdom, London, 1976, p. 222 (as Wissing); Sloman, S.,, Victoria Art Gallery: Concise Catalogue of Paintings and Drawings, Bath, 1991, p. 70 (as Circle of Lely). | |
| Notes | The attribution to the circle, possibly workshop, of Lely was confirmed by Catherine MacLeod. The traditional attribution to William Wissing was no doubt owed to similarities between the present work and Wissing's half-length portrait of Mary of Modena (c. 1685, National Portrait Gallery, London, 214) which include her pearl necklace, red bodice and the turn of her head. However the work is close to copies after a work by Lely known through a mezzotint (reversed) by Richard Tompson (e.g. National Portrait Gallery, London, D8439), as well as paintings by associates of Lely including a version in the collection of Lord Bathurst, Cirencester Park, and another formerly in the Historical Portraits collection. Although presented in a bust-length format, it is likely that the present work was been cut down, as a putto to the far left and a curtain on the right have apparently been truncated and painted out. It was probably produced on a standard 50 x 40 inch canvas. The print by Tompson gives an idea as to the original composition: the subject is depicted three-quarter length and caresses a pet dog, and the background comprises a carving of three gambolling putti to one side, and a curtain to the other. | |
| Rights Owner | Victoria Art Gallery, Bath | |
| Author | Dr Susan Steer | |