Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset ‘Protector Somerset’ (1506?-1552)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1500 - 1599
Materials
Oil on oak panel
Measurements
565 x 425 mm (22 ¼ x 16 ¾ in)
Order this imageCollection
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
NT 1129156
Caption
This portrait was originally thought to portray Thomas Cavendish, who married Katherine Scudamore and was the grandfather of Sir William, father of the 1st Earl of Devonshire. However, it seems more likely that this is actually a portrait of Edward Seymour (c.1506-1552), 1st Earl of Hertford and 1st Duke of Somerset, the Lord Protector of England during the reign of Edward VI. He used the period of his protectorate to push forward the Protestant revolution, but was deposed in January 1550, and was ultimately beheaded for treason in January 1552.
Summary
Oil painting on oak panel, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, Protector Somerset (1506? – 1552), British (English) School, 16th century. Inscribed upper left, in an antiquarian hand: Thomas Caundishe / 24 April 1453 [originally 1459? - now illegible]. A portrait bust of the brother of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife, turned slightly to left, wearing blue tunic trimmed with brown fur, and black cap. A similar likeness as that used by Nicholas Hilliard in his posthumous miniature of 1560 in the collection of Duke of Buccleuch.He was beheaded for treason in January 1552.
Provenance
In inventory of the contents of Hardwick Hall made in 1601 and attached to the will of Elizabeth Hardwick,Countess of Shrewsbury (c.1520-1608);and 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 (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1959)
Marks and inscriptions
Recto: upper left in antiquarian hand Thomas Caundishe/24 April 1453 Verso: Branded on back of (stripped down) panel, a large E. Recto: Label in black on gilt tape: [no. half effaced] THOMAS CAVENDISH
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist