Richard Carew (1555-1620), aged 32, as High Sheriff & Deputy-Lieutenant of Cornwall
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1586
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
533 x 432 mm (21 x 17 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Antony, Cornwall
NT 352348
Caption
The sitter was the eldest son and heir to Thomas Carew (c.1527–1564) whose estate he inherited at the age of eight. He was sent to Oxford where he was a contemporary of the antiquary William Camden and the poet-warrior Philip Sidney. In 1577 he married Juliana (1563–1629), daughter of John Arundell (d. 1580) of Trerice (NT). He was a lawyer, linguist, translating Tasso amongst others, as well a well-known beekeeper and keen fisherman. He is painted here in his chains of office as High Sheriff and Deputy-Lieutenant of Cornwall. The emblem at the top left shows a diamond on an anvil surviving the blows of a hammer, meaning: 'Who is truthful will endure'. His book is inscribed Invicta [mor] te vita ('Life in spite of death').He is perhaps best known for his book Survey of Cornwall, published in 1602 which was still being reprinted 350 years later.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, Richard Carew (1555-1620), aged 32, British (English) School, 1586. A portrait of Richard Carew, historian, wearing white collar, black coat and chain, holding book. He was the eldest son and heir to Thomas Carew. He was sent to Oxford where he was a contemporary of the antiquary William Camden and the poet-warrier Philip Sidney. A lawyer and a linguist, he is painted in his chains of office as High Sheriff and Deputy-Lieutenant of Cornwall. The emblem top left, characteristic of the period, shows a diamond on an anvil surviving the blows of a hammer, meaning, as the Italian say: 'Who is truthful will endure'. His book is inscribed Invicta [mor] te vita ('Life in spite of death').
Provenance
Presumably by inheritance and descent; on loan from the Trustees of Antony
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist
Exhibition history
West Country to World’s End: The South West in the Tudor Age , Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, 2013 - 2014, no.25