Physical description
Portrait of Alice Brandon, Mrs Hilliard, head and shoulders, wearing a ruff, in a circular frame with a decorative border with inscriptions in gold.
Place of Origin
France (probably, painted)
Date
1578 (painted)
Artist/maker
Hilliard, Nicholas, born 1542 - died 1619 (artist)
Materials and Techniques
Watercolour on vellum stuck to card; later stuck to a larger piece of circular card upon which the later outer band of inscription and decoration has been painted
Marks and inscriptions
'NH'
'Ano Dni / * AEsS. 22.'
'+ ALICIA . BRANDON NICOLAI HILLYARD . Q / VI PROPRIA MANV DEPINXIT VXOR PRIMA.'
Dimensions
Height: 59 mm, Width: 57.5 mm
Object history note
Provenance: The miniature is not referred to in Laurence Hilliard’s will as are those of her husband and father-in-law (see no. 48) which supposes a different descent; it was purchased together with another Hilliard by Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, in 1869; thence by descent; acquired through the N.A.C.F., 1942.
Descriptive line
Portrait miniature of Alice Brandon, Mrs. Hilliard, water colour on vellum, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, 1578.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Strong, Roy. Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered 1520-1620.. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983.
Cat. 77, pp. 71-73. Full Citation:
“NICHOLAS HILLIARD
77 Alice Brandon, Mrs Hilliard, 1578
Victoria & Albert Museum (P.2-1942)
Vellum stuck to card and subsequently stuck to a larger, circular piece of card upon which the outer band of inscription and decoration has been painted, almost circular, 59 x 57.5 mm, 2 5/16 x 2 14 in.
Alice Brandon (b. 1556-d. before 1608, daughter of Robert Brandon, the Queen’s goldsmith, married Nicholas Hilliard in 1675 and bore him seven children, Daniel, Elizabeth, Francis, Laurence, Lettice, Penelope and Robert.
This delightful miniature was definitely painted while Hilliard was in France and is recognized as the prime instance of a more direct contact with the portraiture of Francois Clouet. Its sensitivity and feminine charm reflects very full the impact of French portraiture which, particularly in the chalk drawings, aimed at catching fleeting expression.
The face has been damaged, with restoration to the forehead. There is a degree of flaking and the usual fading and oxidizing of the silver. This retains a frame of a type which at one time was also added to both the miniature of Nicholas and Richard Hilliard (nos. 48, 49). It would seem highly likely that this decorative border was added by Laurence Hilliard. The inscription refers to Alice as UXOR PRIMA, Hilliard’s first wife which would indicate that the Nicholas who married Susan Gysard in 1608 was the miniaturist (Edmond Limners and Picture-makers, p. 68).
This is a rare instance of Hilliard signing with a monogram NH.
INSCRIBED: Above the shoulders: NH (in monogram); on either side of the head: Ano Dni / * AEsS. 22.
On the mount over the arms left of Hilliard and right of Brandon and the inscription: + ALICIA . BRANDON NICOLAI HILLYARD . Q / VI PROPRIA MANV DEPINXIT VXOR PRIMA.
COLLECTIONS: The miniature is not referred to in Laurence Hilliard’s will as are those of her husband and father-in-law (see no. 48) which supposes a different descent; it was purchased together with another Hilliard by Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, in 1869; thence by descent; acquired through the N.A.C.F., 1942.
LITERATURE: C. Holmes, Burlington Magazine, VIII. 1906, p. 316.
Kennedy, Buccleuch, pl. XII.
Winter, Elizabethan Miniatures, pl. III (b).
V&A, 1947 (15)
Pope-Hennessy, Lecture, 1949, p. 18, pl. XI.
Auerbach, Hilliard, pp. 72-3, pl. 33; 293 (33).
Strong, Hilliard, pl. 3 (b).”
Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1942, London: HMSO, 1955.
The full text of the record is as follows:
'HILLIARD, Nicholas (1547-1619)
Miniature portrait of Alice Hilliard, née Brandon, the artist's first wife, aged 22 in 1578.
Signed twice with monogram NH.
Inscribed Anõ Dñi. 1578 Æs S. 22 and Alicia Brandon. Nicolai. Hillyardi. Qvi Propria Manu Depinxit Vxor Prima.
On parchment on card. Circular.
P.2-1942
Transferred from the British Museum'
Given by the National Art-Collections Fund
Note: This miniature was formerly in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch. It was No. 15 in the Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1947.'
Exhibition History
Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/1947-31/12/1947)
Artists of the Tudor Court: the portrait miniature rediscovered, 1520-1620 (Victoria and Albert Museum 09/07/1983-06/11/19833)
Production Note
As the painting was made in 1578, it is probable that it was painted when Hilliard was in France. The decorative gold border was probably added by Laurence Hilliard, one of the sons of the artist.
Materials
Watercolour; Vellum
Techniques
Painting
Subjects depicted
Woman; Lace; Ruff; Hilliard, Alice
Categories
Portraits; Paintings
Collection code
PDP
