Called Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland (1640-1709)
style of Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1620 - 1709
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1219 x 978 mm (49 x 38 1/2 in)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall (Children's Country House), Derbyshire
NT 653194
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland (1640-1709), style of Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680). A three-quarter-length portrait of a young woman, seated, turned slightly to the left, head inclined to the right, gazing at the spectator, her cheek resting on her left hand and her right hand which is on her lap is holding a bunch of forget-me-nots which she is feeding to a lamb on the right. She wears a white décolleté chemise under a grey gown which has fallen down on her lap and she is seated beheath a large tree and a distant tree-filled landscape with sky can be seen on the left. She was Charles II's mistress and she had five children by him: Ann Fitzroy, Charles Fitzroy, Henry Fitzroy, Charlotte Fitzroy and George Fitzroy. The drapery matches NT 653188 in every particular way save colour.
Provenance
Acquired from 10th Lord Vernon in lieu of death-duties after the death of Francis Lawrence William Venables-Vernon, 9th Lord Vernon (1889 -1963) and transferred to the National Trust in 1967 through the National Land Fund
Credit line
Sudbury Hall, The Vernon Collection (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to the National Trust in 1967)
Marks and inscriptions
Style of Sir Peter Lely
Makers and roles
style of Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680), artist