Core Record |
| Title |
Sir William Ffaryngton (1537-1610) of Worden Hall, Leyland |
| Collection |
Lancaster City Museum |
| Artist |
Attributed to manner of Geeraerts, Marcus, the younger (Flemish painter, 1561-1635, active in England) |
| Date |
1593 (dated) |
| Description |
Sir William Ffaryngton, the subject of this portrait, was a senior member of one of the most powerful families in Lancashire. The inscription on the upper left corner tells us that he was aged 58 at the time of the painting, in 1593. At this time Faryngton was steward of the household of Derby at Knowsley, and from his large collection of letters we learn that he was in direct correspondence with the court of Henry III of France and Elizabeth I. He was such a well-known figure in his day that he is believed to be the prototype for Shakespeare's pompous character Malvolio in Twelfth Night. |
| Current Accession Number |
LCMS 1994.131 |
| Inscription |
front ul 'AETATIS SVE 56. ANNO DOM. 1593' |
| Subject |
portrait (Ffaryngton, Sir William) |
| Measurements |
76.5 x 63 cm.0 cm (estimate) |
| Material |
oil on canvas |
| Acquisition Details |
Purchased with aid from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund from Fulda Gallery, Salford, 1994. |
| Publications |
Derby Household Inventory, The Cheetham Society, 1853, p. xcv. |
| Notes |
Information received from the National Art Collections Fund: 'There is an almost identical portrait on panel in the collection of Parham Park, Sussex. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that this portrait on canvas is a copy (albeit an early one) of the panel painting. However this work had always been at the principal residence of the Ffaryngtons, Worden Hall, and is specifically the one referred to by the antiquarian member of the family, Susan Maria Ffaryngton (1809-94), as having been painted with several other works on canvas (now lost) as a consequence of Sir William having been controller of the household to the Earls of Derby from 1586-91.' Background Information on Gheeraerts 'His portraits conform to the conventions of 17th century portrait painting, in which the depiction of richly embroidered clothes decorated with expensive lace was very important. Together with Isaac Oliver, Marcus Geeraerts the younger instigated the break from the firmly two-dimensional and linear tradition of Nicholas Hilliard and Robert Peake. So many portraits have been attributed to Gheeraerts II that there is a strong possibility of some of them being the work of his father' or followers of the artist.' Eight signed portraits by Gheeraerts II are known, but a further twenty two can be attributed to him with certainty on the basis of the handwriting of the inscriptions found on most of the paintings: it was Gheeraert's personal custom to put into the background of each portrait a sonnet or the date and age of the sitter. From 1620 his commissions came mainly from scholars and from gentry rather than the court.' Vermandere, E., 'Marcus Gheeraerts (ii) the Younger', Grove Art Online, Oxford University Press, 2 March 2006, http://www.groveart.com/. |
| Rights Owner |
Lancashire County Museum Service |
| Author |
Lisa Howard |
