King James I (James VI of Scotland) (1566–1625) in Garter Robes
after Daniel Mytens the elder (Delft c.1590 – The Hague 1648)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1630 - 1699
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
619 x 422 mm (24 ⅜ x 16 ⅝ in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1140214
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, King James I (James VI of Scotland) (1566–1625) in Garter Robes, after Daniel Mytens the elder (Delft c.1590 – The Hague 1648), inscribed: on a scroll above the King’s head: BEATI PACIFICI [‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’], mid-late 17th century after original of 1621. A full-length portrait, seated slightly to the right, hands resting on the arms of the chair; black eyes; he is dressed in a suit of white satin and his Garter robes; the chair is upholstered in crimson and gold; a table covered with a crimson gold-embroidered cloth to the right on which there stands a black hat adorned with a jewelled hatband and ostrich plumes; turkey carpet on the floor and tapestry background with royal arms above his head. ‘ Beati Pacifici’ – ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’ (Matthew’s Gospel: 5:9) is the seventh of the Beatitudes named by Christ. James I prided himself on being a peacemaker, particularly in his latter years, to the dismay of those who wanted him to support his son-in-law and daughter, the Winter King and Queen, and thus the cause of Protestantism in Europe.
Provenance
Owned by John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale (1616-82) and Elizabeth Murray, 2nd Countess of Dysart and Duchess of Lauderdale (1626-98), listed in the 1683 inventory of Ham House and in the c. 1683 ‘Estimate of Pictures’; thence by descent until acquired with the rest of the collection at Ham by HM Government and transferred to the care of the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1948; management of the collection, including this painting, transferred to the National Trust, 1990; ownership of the collection transferred to the National Trust, 2002.
Credit line
Ham House, The Dysart Collection (purchased by HM Government in 1948 and transferred to the National Trust in 2002)
Makers and roles
after Daniel Mytens the elder (Delft c.1590 – The Hague 1648), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Paulus van Somer the elder (Antwerp 1576 – London 1621), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Cornelius Johnson (London 1593 - Utrecht 1661), artist
Exhibition history
Bright Star of the North: King James VI and I, Scottish National Portrait Gallery , 2020
