Charles II, when Prince of Wales thumbnail 1
Charles II, when Prince of Wales thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Portrait Miniatures, Room 90a, The International Music and Art Foundation Gallery

Charles II, when Prince of Wales

Portrait Miniature
1644-1645 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This miniature is a copy after the portrait of Prince Charles, later Charles II, at the age of 14, by William Dobson, now in the Royal Collection. The Prince wears upper-body armour that survives in the Armouries of the Tower of London and the collar and enamelled George of the Order of the Garter. The miniature is notable for still being set in its original gold locket, which is enamelled with blue on the outside. It still has its front-fitting hinged lid. Two years before this miniature was painted, the Civil Wars had broken out in England. King Charles I was captured, tried and executed as a public enemy in 1649. By then, Prince Charles was in exile abroad. During the Civil Wars and following his father's execution, images such as this one proliferated among those loyal to the monarchy. The monarchy was restored in 1660, when Charles II returned from abroad and reclaimed his crown.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCharles II, when Prince of Wales (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on vellum
Brief description
Portrait miniature of Charles II, when Prince of Wales, watercolour on vellum set in a gold locket, painted by 'G. I.' after William Dobson, 1644-1645.
Physical description
Portrait of a man, head and shoulders, looking to front, turned slightly to left and wearing a suit of armour. Features hatched and stippled in brown, grey and some sanguine, with touches of white in the eyes and red in the lips, on a pale creamy carnation ground; hair in dark brown wash, lined in black and with highlights in grey gouache; collar in pale brown wash, heightened and modelled in white and pale grey; armour in grey and black washes, the lights in pale grey and white, and the gold-work in yellow ochre and brown; the George in brown, grey and white; background in a pale flat brown wash, shaded above the shoulders and in the margins with darker brown hatches; on vellum; the support not seen.
Dimensions
  • Sight size height: 45mm
  • Sight size width: 36mm
Dimensions taken from John Murdoch Seventeenth-century English Miniatures in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: The Stationery Office, 1997.
Content description
Portrait of a man, head and shoulders, looking to front, turned slightly to left and wearing a suit of armour.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'GI' (Signed upper right, with the brush point in black)
Credit line
Given by Miss Elizabeth George
Object history
Provenance: Given in August 1994 by Miss Elizabeth J. George of Twyford, Berkshire, who had recently inherited it from her grandmother.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This miniature is a copy after the portrait of Prince Charles, later Charles II, at the age of 14, by William Dobson, now in the Royal Collection. The Prince wears upper-body armour that survives in the Armouries of the Tower of London and the collar and enamelled George of the Order of the Garter. The miniature is notable for still being set in its original gold locket, which is enamelled with blue on the outside. It still has its front-fitting hinged lid. Two years before this miniature was painted, the Civil Wars had broken out in England. King Charles I was captured, tried and executed as a public enemy in 1649. By then, Prince Charles was in exile abroad. During the Civil Wars and following his father's execution, images such as this one proliferated among those loyal to the monarchy. The monarchy was restored in 1660, when Charles II returned from abroad and reclaimed his crown.
Bibliographic reference
Murdoch, John. Seventeenth-century English Miniatures in the Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. London: The Stationery Office in association with the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1997.
Collection
Accession number
E.442-1995

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Record createdJanuary 6, 2003
Record URL
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