Atelier de John de Critz l'Ancien Portrait of James I...
Workshop of John de Critz the Elder
Antwerp c. 1550 - 1642
Portrait of James I (1566 - 1625), King of England and Scotland, bust-length
Oil on canvas
59,5 x 43,4 cm ; 23⅜ by 17⅛ in.
Catalogue Note:
This sensitive portrait of James I captures the character of a monarch who was renowned for both his wit and his scholarship, a writer and poet who took a keen personal interest in the translation of the Bible into English. Unlike his cousin Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), James had a strong dislike of being painted. As such, the portrait executed of him shortly after his accession by Flemish artist John de Critz became the prototype for most portraits of the King until about 1617, when another Flemish artist, Paul van Somer (1577 - 1621), established himself as court painter.
The present likeness was one of many variants of this first official portrait of the King, which was commissioned in 1606. John de Critz was born in Antwerp and brought over to England as a child, in 1568. He was encouraged by Sir Francis Walsingham (c. 1532 - 1590), one of the Queen's most important courtiers, who sent him on travels into Europe and whose portrait he also painted. When James came to the throne, de Critz was a clear choice to paint the new king. He was appointed Serjeant Painter both in 1605 alongside Leonard Fryer (d. 1605) and again from 1607-19 with Robert Peake (c. 1551 - 1619). His sister married Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (c. 1520 - 1590), who had come to England the same year as de Critz and was to become one of Elizabeth I's favourite painters.
The present portrait, from an old Scottish collection, is closely related to the celebrated three-quarter length of the king (fig. 1) painted for the 1st Earl of Haddington (1563 - 1637).1 In both portraits, the monarch wears an elegant cream doublet adorned with jewellery and a fine lace ruff. The King was most often depicted, as here, wearing a black hat, usually decorated with a badge of magnificent jewels. The King and his wife, Anne of Denmark (1574 - 1619), had a great love for jewellery and his early portraits show him wearing one of three great royal jewels.2 The Haddington portrait portrays him wearing the famous Feather Jewel and the present portrait shows him wearing a splendid and closely related hat badge.
1 Oil on panel, 114.3 x 82.8 cm. Tyninghame, Sotheby's, 29 September 1987, lot 532, for £96,000.
2 See R. Strong, 'Three Royal Jewels', in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 108, no. 176, July 1966, pp. 350-53.
Provenance:
Probably acquired by Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet (1712 - 1781), Aske, North Yorkshire, in the 18th century ;
Thence by descent (recorded at Aske in 1895; see Literature) ;
Until sold anonymously, Bonhams, London, 9 July 2014, lot 87 (as Paul van Somer).
Literature:
T. Wood, Catalogue of pictures at Aske, Richmond, Yorkshire, Darlington, 1895, n.p., no. 79 (as Paul van Somer).
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Workshop of John de Critz the Elder
Antwerp c. 1550 - 1642
Portrait of James I (1566 - 1625), King of England and Scotland, bust-length
Oil on canvas
59,5 x 43,4 cm ; 23⅜ by 17⅛ in.
Catalogue Note:
This sensitive portrait of James I captures the character of a monarch who was renowned for both his wit and his scholarship, a writer and poet who took a keen personal interest in the translation of the Bible into English. Unlike his cousin Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), James had a strong dislike of being painted. As such, the portrait executed of him shortly after his accession by Flemish artist John de Critz became the prototype for most portraits of the King until about 1617, when another Flemish artist, Paul van Somer (1577 - 1621), established himself as court painter.
The present likeness was one of many variants of this first official portrait of the King, which was commissioned in 1606. John de Critz was born in Antwerp and brought over to England as a child, in 1568. He was encouraged by Sir Francis Walsingham (c. 1532 - 1590), one of the Queen's most important courtiers, who sent him on travels into Europe and whose portrait he also painted. When James came to the throne, de Critz was a clear choice to paint the new king. He was appointed Serjeant Painter both in 1605 alongside Leonard Fryer (d. 1605) and again from 1607-19 with Robert Peake (c. 1551 - 1619). His sister married Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (c. 1520 - 1590), who had come to England the same year as de Critz and was to become one of Elizabeth I's favourite painters.
The present portrait, from an old Scottish collection, is closely related to the celebrated three-quarter length of the king (fig. 1) painted for the 1st Earl of Haddington (1563 - 1637).1 In both portraits, the monarch wears an elegant cream doublet adorned with jewellery and a fine lace ruff. The King was most often depicted, as here, wearing a black hat, usually decorated with a badge of magnificent jewels. The King and his wife, Anne of Denmark (1574 - 1619), had a great love for jewellery and his early portraits show him wearing one of three great royal jewels.2 The Haddington portrait portrays him wearing the famous Feather Jewel and the present portrait shows him wearing a splendid and closely related hat badge.
1 Oil on panel, 114.3 x 82.8 cm. Tyninghame, Sotheby's, 29 September 1987, lot 532, for £96,000.
2 See R. Strong, 'Three Royal Jewels', in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 108, no. 176, July 1966, pp. 350-53.
Provenance:
Probably acquired by Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet (1712 - 1781), Aske, North Yorkshire, in the 18th century ;
Thence by descent (recorded at Aske in 1895; see Literature) ;
Until sold anonymously, Bonhams, London, 9 July 2014, lot 87 (as Paul van Somer).
Literature:
T. Wood, Catalogue of pictures at Aske, Richmond, Yorkshire, Darlington, 1895, n.p., no. 79 (as Paul van Somer).
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
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