Sir Jeffrey Hudson (1619 – 1682)
after Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 - London 1641)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1640 - 1650
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1448 x 1067 mm (57 x 42 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
NT 1129288
Caption
Sir Jeffrey Hudson was Queen Henrietta Maria’s dwarf. He had initially come to the notice of the Duchess of Buckingham, who served him up in a pie at dinner to Charles I and Henrietta Maria. He was made a Captain during the Civil Wars and went to Paris in 1649. He was captured by pirates off the coast of France and carried to Barbary as a slave, but eventually escaped and returned to England. He was later imprisoned for supposed complicity in the ‘Popish Plot’ but was released in 1679. He was allegedly 18 inches high until 30 years of age, and then grew to 42 inches. This picture is derived from the probable original, which was a double portrait of ‘Queen Henrietta Maria and Jeffrey Hudson’, now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Sir Jeffrey Hudson (1619 – 1682), after Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 - London 1641). A full-length portrait, standing on a terrace, wearing a plum, coloured dress, a monkey on his shoulder. Derived from probable original, Queen Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) and Jeffery Hudson (1619-1682), her dwarf, National Gallery of Art, Washington. Queen Henrietta Maria's 'dwarf', was the son of a butcher at Oakham. He was 18 inches high till 30 years of age and then grew to 42-45 inches high. He came to the notice of the Duchess of Buckingham who served him up in a pie at dinner to Charles I and Henrietta Maria. He was eventually placed in the service of Henrietta Maria. He became captain of horse during the Civil Wars and went to Paris in 1649. He was captured by pirates while off the coast of France and carried to Barbary as a slave. He eventually escaped and returned to England. He was later imprisoned for supposed complicity in the 'Popish Plot' but was released in 1679.
Provenance
In Swift 1811 inventory; thence by descent until, following the death of Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (1895 - 1950), Hardwick Hall and its contents were accepted by HM Treasury in part payment of death duties and transferred to the National Trust, in 1959
Credit line
Hardwick Hall, The Devonshire Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
after Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 - London 1641), artist