An Unknown Man, aged 24
Portrait Miniature
1572 (painted)
1572 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This portrait of an unknown man is one of a pair; the portrait of his wife is still in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch. The pictures are unusual, both in terms of traditional miniatures and Hilliard’s own work, as they are rectangular in shape and were formerly set into a diptych-style frame. This unusual format was probably the innovation of Hilliard, who was still experimenting with the miniature format at this early stage in his career. He has, however, retained the traditional way of inscribing miniatures, citing the date as ‘Ano Dni 1576’ (an abbreviation for Anno Domini, ‘in the year of our Lord’) and the age of the sitter as ‘Aetatis Sue XXIIII’ (aged 24). The face here has been retouched; the original skin tone would have been more pale.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | An Unknown Man, aged 24 (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on vellum stuck to a playing card |
| Brief description | Portrait miniature of an unknown man, aged 24, watercolour on vellum, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, 1572. |
| Physical description | Portrait of a man, half-length, turned slightly to right, eyes to front, and wearing a black cap with a feather, a ruff and a pendant on a ribbon round his neck; inscriptions in gold on either side on a blue background. The vellum on which the portrait is painted is stuck onto a playing card, on the back of which is the three of hearts. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Portrait of a man, half-length, wearing a ruff, black cap and a pendant round his neck. |
| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'AEtatis sue. XXIIII / Ano., 1572.' (Inscribed on either side of the head) |
| Credit line | Presented by Art Fund |
| Object history | Provenance: Part of the collection formed by Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch (1806-84); first recorded in 1864; purchased and presented by the N.A.C.F. 1942 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This portrait of an unknown man is one of a pair; the portrait of his wife is still in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch. The pictures are unusual, both in terms of traditional miniatures and Hilliard’s own work, as they are rectangular in shape and were formerly set into a diptych-style frame. This unusual format was probably the innovation of Hilliard, who was still experimenting with the miniature format at this early stage in his career. He has, however, retained the traditional way of inscribing miniatures, citing the date as ‘Ano Dni 1576’ (an abbreviation for Anno Domini, ‘in the year of our Lord’) and the age of the sitter as ‘Aetatis Sue XXIIII’ (aged 24). The face here has been retouched; the original skin tone would have been more pale. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.1-1942 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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