James VI of Scotland and I of England (1566–1625)
John de Critz, the Elder (Antwerp 1551/52 - London 1642)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1606
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
1130 x 876 mm (44 1/2 x 34 1/2 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Montacute House, Somerset
NT 2900021
Caption
In his book, Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, Second Series, Vol IV,1828, John Preston Neale observed that this picture hung in the "Great Drawing Room".
Summary
Oil painting on panel, James VI of Scotland and I of England (1566–1625) by John de Critz the Elder (c. 1550-1642), circa 1606. A three-quarter-length portrait of the Stuart monarch, wearing the Great George of the Order of the Garter and the Mirror of Great Britain jewel. The portrait is based on a full-length pattern by de Critz the Elder for which payments are recorded in 1606 and 1607, and of which autograph versions exist at Loseley Park, Surrey, and in the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London. Other three-quarter-length versions are in the Portland and Rosebery collections; this one formerly in the Haddington collection at Tyninghame House, East Lothian, was most recently sold at auction at Christie's, King Street, London, on 7 December 2011, lot 184.
Provenance
Reputedly presented by the sitter to Sir Edward Phelips (c. 1550-1614), the builder of Montacute; thence by descent until sold at auction at Phillips, London, 15 December 1987, lot 36 (bought for £34,000); purchased by the National Trust at auction at Sotheby's, London, 6 July 2011, lot 41, with funds from the Miss Moira Carmichael bequest and from other gifts and bequests.
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Inscribed on an old label: Wm.Phelips/ Montacute House
Makers and roles
John de Critz, the Elder (Antwerp 1551/52 - London 1642), artist
