A Lady
Oil Painting
ca. 1630 (painted)
ca. 1630 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Oil-painted portraits of noble or wealthy men and women became increasingly common in the 17th century, as Britain became more prosperous through trade and many more citizens were granted titles by the King. The pictures nearly always show the sitters splendidly dressed in the height of expensive fashion, often in order to emphasise their new wealth, status or nobility.
People
If the identity of a sitter for a portrait of this period is lost, it is often surprisingly difficult to recover it. Owners may be tempted to identify their pictures as being of someone famous, especially if the costume is very sumptuous. This splendid portrait was until recently thought to be of Charlotte de la Trémoille (1599-1664), Countess of Derby, but the woman depicted is too young.
Subjects Depicted
Wealthy men and women sometimes spent enormous sums of money on their dress, even if they were mere citizens and not ennobled. It is sometimes difficult to realise that even obscure but ambitious merchants and landowners would invest a large amount of their wealth in their clothes, so that they could resemble the courtiers that surrounded the King.
Oil-painted portraits of noble or wealthy men and women became increasingly common in the 17th century, as Britain became more prosperous through trade and many more citizens were granted titles by the King. The pictures nearly always show the sitters splendidly dressed in the height of expensive fashion, often in order to emphasise their new wealth, status or nobility.
People
If the identity of a sitter for a portrait of this period is lost, it is often surprisingly difficult to recover it. Owners may be tempted to identify their pictures as being of someone famous, especially if the costume is very sumptuous. This splendid portrait was until recently thought to be of Charlotte de la Trémoille (1599-1664), Countess of Derby, but the woman depicted is too young.
Subjects Depicted
Wealthy men and women sometimes spent enormous sums of money on their dress, even if they were mere citizens and not ennobled. It is sometimes difficult to realise that even obscure but ambitious merchants and landowners would invest a large amount of their wealth in their clothes, so that they could resemble the courtiers that surrounded the King.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | oil on canvas |
| Brief description | Full length portrait, in oil on canvas, of an unknown woman, formerly thought to be Charlotte Countess of Derby, wearing a black dress, with a blue curtain and a window in the background. British, mid 17th century. Attributed to Gilbert Jackson. |
| Physical description | Full-length, nearly full-face, portrait of a lady standing on rush matting and looking towards the spectator. Her head is turned slightly to the spectator's right. She has brown hair and eyes, and wears a décolleté black dress trimmed with lace and pink ribbons. In her right hand she holds a feather fan; her left rests on the back of a chair upholstered in pale blue. Behind her in the centre and on the right is a pale blue curtain; at the top on the left is a latticed window. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
The sitter's fashionable silk bodice and petticoat are figured with silver. She wears a needle lace collar and cuffs, with satin ribbon trimming the gown. Her feather handscreen was a new type of accessory, influenced by Japanese fans.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
| Object history | Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882 Painted in England; formerly thought to have been painted by Gilbert Jackson (active 1621-1640) |
| Production | Formerly attributed to Cornelius Johnson (or Janssens). |
| Summary | Object Type Oil-painted portraits of noble or wealthy men and women became increasingly common in the 17th century, as Britain became more prosperous through trade and many more citizens were granted titles by the King. The pictures nearly always show the sitters splendidly dressed in the height of expensive fashion, often in order to emphasise their new wealth, status or nobility. People If the identity of a sitter for a portrait of this period is lost, it is often surprisingly difficult to recover it. Owners may be tempted to identify their pictures as being of someone famous, especially if the costume is very sumptuous. This splendid portrait was until recently thought to be of Charlotte de la Trémoille (1599-1664), Countess of Derby, but the woman depicted is too young. Subjects Depicted Wealthy men and women sometimes spent enormous sums of money on their dress, even if they were mere citizens and not ennobled. It is sometimes difficult to realise that even obscure but ambitious merchants and landowners would invest a large amount of their wealth in their clothes, so that they could resemble the courtiers that surrounded the King. |
| Bibliographic reference | Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6.
This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 565-1882 |
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| Record created | August 12, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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