Charles I when Duke of York
Portrait Miniature
1605-1608 (painted)
1605-1608 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Nicholas Hilliard's miniature of Charles I was painted when the prince was Duke of York. Charles was James I's youngest son, born in 1600. He was a weak child, but when his athletic older brother Prince Henry died unexpectedly in 1612, Charles became Prince of Wales, and later inherited the throne.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Charles I when Duke of York (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on vellum stuck to plain card |
| Brief description | Portrait miniature of Charles I when Duke of York, watercolour on vellum, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, 1605-1608. |
| Physical description | Portrait miniature of Charles I, oval, half length, in a circular frame. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | Portrait of a boy, half length, turned to and looking to front. The sitter is wearing a high lace collar. The portrait is set against a rich blue curtain with an embroidered pattern in gold. |
| Styles | |
| Gallery label | |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by E. Peter Jones |
| Object history | COLLECTIONS: See no. 245 until sold in the Capt. J. H. Edwards-Heathcote sale, Christie’s 13th June 1928 (lot 47) as by Isaac Oliver; purchased by E. Peter Jones and bequeathed to the V&A, 1948. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Nicholas Hilliard's miniature of Charles I was painted when the prince was Duke of York. Charles was James I's youngest son, born in 1600. He was a weak child, but when his athletic older brother Prince Henry died unexpectedly in 1612, Charles became Prince of Wales, and later inherited the throne. |
| Bibliographic reference | Strong, Roy. Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered 1520-1620. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983.Cat. 248, p. 149. Part Citation: "The earliest surviving portrait of Charles I from life. It must date before May 1611 when he was created a Knight of the Garter and has been dated by Graham Reynolds c. 1603 and by Margaret Toynbee c. 1598-9; three certainly seems too young and somewhere between 1605 and 1608, i.e. between the ages of five and eight, would be more suitable. Charles came to England in the summer of 1604 and was placed in the charge of Lady Cary. Although he was a weak child, with a speech impediment, Hilliard records him as an upright, healthy figure with sparkling grey-blue eyes. The formal curtain with gold embroidery and fringing is unusual... It is interesting to compare Hilliard’s approach with that of Robert Peake, whose oil portrait of Charles, although considerably more wooden, captures the pathetic ailing face and sad haunted eyes more accurately (See Roy Strong, The English Icon, pl. 216 now identified as the Prince).
LITERATURE: M. R. Toynbee, “Some Early Portraits of Charles I”, Burlington Magazine, XCI, 1958, pp. 4-9; Graham Reynolds, Walpole Society, XXXIV, 1958, no. DI; Erna Auerbach, Hilliard, 1961, pp. 151-52, 313 (no. 150).” |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.10-1947 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | July 8, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
