Lady Lucy Herbert (1668-1744), later Prioress of the English Austin Canonesses at Bruges, as a Vestal Virgin
François de Troy (Toulouse 1645 - Paris 1730)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1692 - 1693
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1225 x 935 mm
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Powis Castle and Garden, Powys
NT 1180945
Caption
François de Troy painted this portrait of Lady Lucy Herbert, fourth daughter of William, 1st Marquess and (titular) Duke of Powis in about 1692-3, when she and her family had gone into exile to the Continent for their allegiance to the deposed Catholic King James II. At this time she lived in the exiled Stuart court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in an apartment on the fourth floor of the palace. She appears in the painting besides a smoking altar in the white robes and veil of the Vestal Vigins: high-born priestesses of ancient Rome who served as public manifestations of female virtue. In 1693 she was admitted to the convent of the English Augustinian Canonesses at Bruges, and was elected prioress of the community in 1709.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Lady Lucy Herbert (1668-1744), later Prioress of the English Austin Canonesses at Bruges, as a Vestal Virgin, François de Troy (Toulouse 1645 - Paris 1730), circa 1692 - 1693. A three-quarter-length portrait of the fourth daughter of William, 1st Marquess and (titular) Duke of Powis, dressed as a vestal virgin. She entered the convent of English Augustinian Canonesses at Bruges and was elected its Prioress in 1709.
Provenance
Accepted by HM Treasury on 21st March, 1963 in lieu of tax and conveyed to National Trust ownership on 29th November 1963. Recorded at Powis Castle in Montgomery Collections Vol VI P.148 in 1873.
Credit line
Powis Castle, The Powis Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
François de Troy (Toulouse 1645 - Paris 1730), artist
References
Chu 2018 John Chu, House of Portraits: Powis Castle, Swindon, 2018, p.9