An Unknown Man, called John Milton (1608-1674)
Mary Beale (Barrow 1633 – London 1699)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1660
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
770 x 630 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire
NT 959530
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, called John Milton, by Mary Beale (Barrow 1633 – London 1699), circa 1660. A half-length painted oval portrait of a man believed to be John Milton, turned to the left, facing the viewer, wearing a black robe and white bands, in a feigned sculpture oval on which is written MILTON. John Milton was one of the greatest English poets of the 17th Century, most famous as the author of the two epic poems 'Paradise Lost' and 'Paradise Regained'. This painting was almost certainly acquired by Charles Winn in the 19th Century, as a companion to the portrait of Milton's friend, Andrew Marvell. Though it is impossible to be sure of the true identity of the sitter, this composition has been used in several later representations of Milton, including that in Birch's 'Heads of Illustrious Persons' of 1813.
Provenance
Probably acquired by Charles Winn (1795-1874); thence by descent; purchased by the National Trust by private treaty sale from Lord St Oswald in 2010
Credit line
Nostell Priory, The St Oswald Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
On the left of the painted cartouche: MILTON
Makers and roles
Mary Beale (Barrow 1633 – London 1699), artist British (English) School, artist
References
Brockwell 1915 Maurice Walter Brockwell, Catalogue of the Pictures and Other Works of Art in the Collection of Lord St Oswald at Nostell Priory, London 1915, cat. no. 69