John Calvin (1509-1564)
Enoch Seeman the younger (Gdańsk c.1694 – London 1744)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1714 - 1744
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
991 x 864 mm (39 x 34 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Petworth House and Park, West Sussex
NT 485033
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, John Calvin (1509-1564) by Enoch Seeman the younger (Gdańsk c.1694 – London 1744), inscribed on right-hand page of open book on table left: IN / XX CAP / EZECH / IEL. A three-quarter-length portrait, standing, turned slightly to the left, gazing to the left, holding an open Bible and wearing a black cap, gown, fur collar and cuffs. On the left-hand side is a red covered table and a book. John Calvin (Jean Cauvin) (1509-1564) was born in Noyon, Picardy, the son of an ecclesiastical lawyer. He attended the University of Paris to train for the priesthood but then began to train for the law at Orleans and Bourges and received his first interest in theology. He then began to preach the reformed doctrines and travelled to Paris, Noyon, and Nerac. On his return to Paris, he realised that his life was no longer safe in France and fled to Basel. In 1536 he published The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin taught that certain people 'the elect' are predestined for eternal life and the remainder are damned, also that salvation was a gift from God and man's good works were a sign of that salvation and not its cause.He eventually settled in Geneva and took over the work of Guillaume Farel of directing the religious and political life of the city. Among other reforms affecting the lives of the citizens of Basel, he banned all public entertainment, issued regulations on dress and insisted on absolute puritanism in their private lives. He was expelled from the city in 1538, but returned three years later and imposed a code of intolerance on religious matters and strict social and puritan morality. The ethic of hard work, thrift and sobriety brought great trade and wealth to the city.A college which later became Geneva University was founded to create a body of educated priests who would be able to continue Calvin's work. The presbyterian churches in Scotland, the Huguenots in France and the Dutch Reformed Church were all greatly influenced by Calvin's teaching.
Provenance
By descent to the current Lord Egremont. On loan from the Egremont Private Collection
Credit line
Petworth House, The Egremont Collection
Marks and inscriptions
(inscribed on right-hand page of open book on table left): IN/XX CAP/EZECH/IEL
Makers and roles
Enoch Seeman the younger (Gdańsk c.1694 – London 1744), artist
References
Vertue 1730 George Vertue, 'Notebooks I-VIII', Walpole Society, I xviii, 1930; II, xx,1932; III, xxii, 1934; IV, xxiv, 1936; xxvi, V,1938; xxix, 1947 index; VI, xxx, 1955 , 1930-55. Vol.XX 1931-32, [V.89, B.M. 70b], p.81, 1730 & Vol.XXIV, 1935-36, [V.67, B.M. 40 b],1738, IV p.149.