CIRCLE OF ROBERT WALKER (BRITISH 1607-1658), PORTRAIT OF SIR NATHANIEL BARNARDISTON IN ARMOUR

CIRCLE OF ROBERT WALKER (BRITISH 1607-1658)PORTRAIT OF SIR NATHANIEL BARNARDISTON IN ARMOUROil on canvasLater inscribed with sitter's name and further inscribed 'By Van Dyck 1632' (lower left) 132 x 107cm (51¾ x 42 in.)Provenance: The Barnardiston family at Brightwell Hall until brought to Weston Hall in 1744Thence by descent at Weston Hall. Literature:Sir George Sitwell, A brief history of Weston Hall, Northamptonshire, and of the families that possessed it, London, privately printed 1927, p. 42, p. 56.Catalogue Note:This portrait depicts Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston (1588-1653), Parliamentarian politician and ecclesiastical patron, known as 'the patriot' during the English Civil War for his opposition to Charles I (Sir George Sitwell, A brief history of Weston Hall, Northamptonshire, and of the families that possessed it, London, privately printed 1927, p. 42). It came to Weston Hall, Northamptonshire, through inheritance. Barnardiston was the grandfather of Arthur Barnardiston Esq. of Brightwell Hall, Suffolk, who married Mary Jennens (d. 1788), eldest daughter of Mrs Susanna Jennens (1688-1760) of Weston Hall. An Appraisement of pictures dated May 1744 for Mary Barnardiston records two paintings of Sir Nathaniel: 'Old Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston's picture' at a value of £10, and 'Old Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston, a half piece' at £2 2s (ibid., p. 56). These paintings were probably moved from Brightwell Hall to Mary Barnardiston's London house in Bedford Row prior to being sent to Weston Hall (ibid.).Born in 1588 to parents with strong puritan views, Barnardiston was from one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Suffolk, who could trace their ancestry to the reign of Richard I. In 1618, he was knighted, and a year later, following an inheritance of additional lands, his annual income increased to over £3,500. Barnardiston controlled the appointments to four livings in the Church of England in Suffolk and Lincolnshire, and together with like-minded allies provided advowsons for eight puritan ministers. In 1624, he was appointed High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk. At the county level he supported the parliamentary cause; in April 1640, he was re-elected as Knight of the Shire for Suffolk, for the Short Parliament; Barnardiston set out for this parliament with a sense of mission, believing that failure to enact reforms would endanger the church and kingdom. In November 1640, he was re-elected to the Long Parliament, though he played only a modest role, serving on lesser committees, including one concerned with the reformation of ecclesiastical courts. At his death, he was lauded as the father of his country for having defended its rights and liberties. His friends, including Christopher Burrell, published a volume of elegies, Suffolks Tears (1653) in commemoration of his life. Barnardiston's third son, Samuel (1620-1707), was given the epithet 'Roundhead', from which the use of this name for the Parliamentarians arose, during the apprentice riots - a protestation against Charles I's implicit threat to use military force to support his government. Henrietta Maria, Charles's consort, is said to have spied Samuel standing out among the closely cropped apprentice boys and remarked: 'see what a handsome young Roundhead is there!' (. Accessed 10 August 2021).Condition Report: The canvas has been relined. There is a horizontal crease running the width of the painting, through the sitter's breast-plate, possibly cause by the canvas being folded previously. Some light scattered surface dirt and craquelure throughout. Stretcher marks visible in a raking light. The canvas is a little slack. Inspection under UV reveals scattered retouching throughout, including to the aforementioned creased area and also to the later added inscription (lower left). There is also a green cloudy masking varnish which may be hiding the extent of any further retouching.Condition Report Disclaimer