Princess Bridget Plantagenet (1480-1517) dedicated to the Nunnery at Dartford
James Northcote, RA (Plymouth 1746 – London 1831)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1822 (signed and dated)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1854 x 1448 mm (73 x 57 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Petworth House and Park, West Sussex
NT 486142
Caption
Princess Bridget was the fourth daughter of Edward IV (1442-1483) and Elizabeth Woodville (c.1437-1492). She was born at Eltham Palace, but was consigned to the the convent at Dartford when a child. She became a nun and spent a life of contemplation and devotion. She died at there in 1517. In this tender scene, the child’s mother is clearly stricken at this separation from her daughter. The Abbess reminds them of the true calling of God, by gesturing up to heaven. Northcote maintained that the subjects of pictures should be immediately recognisable and cited this picture as a case in point.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Princess Bridget Plantagenet (1480-1517) dedicated to the Nunnery at Dartford, by James Northcote, RA (Plymouth 1746 – London 1831), signed and dated: James Northcote pinxt. 1822. Four full-length figures. The Princess is standing in the centre as a child, full length, full face, in white, with her mother kneeling holding her on the right. The Abbess is standing, on the left, bending over her and gesturing to heaven with her right hand ; in the right background the Prior can be seen standing with a crosier. In the left-hand corner is an open book with the royal arms and York roses inscribed with the story and signed 'James Northcote - pinx, 1822'.
Provenance
Acquired by the 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751-1837), thence by descent, until the death in 1952 of the 3rd Lord Leconfield, who had given Petworth to the National Trust in 1947, and whose nephew and heir, John Wyndham, 6th Lord Leconfield and 1st Lord Egremont (1920-72) arranged for the acceptance of the major portion of the collections at Petworth in lieu of death duties (the first ever such arrangement) in 1956 by H.M.Treasury.
Credit line
Petworth, The Egremont Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
JAMES NORTHCOTE. pinx, 1822 (on book)
Makers and roles
James Northcote, RA (Plymouth 1746 – London 1831), artist