Portrait Of A Lady, Queen Henrietta Maria, C.1640; Anthony Van Dyck, Oil On Canvas Painting

Portrait of a Lady, Queen Henrietta Maria in Riding Dress and Hat c.1640
Studio of Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)

This charming portrait was in the collection of one of England’s ancient families, with a long and intriguing history, the Boyle family, Earls of Cork and Orrery. The portrait was at their principal English home, Marston House (also known as Marston Park or Marston Bigot Park) in Somerset, where they resided for nearly three centuries, before it was sold in 1905, after the death of the 9th Earl of Cork, whose funeral service was represented by both the King and Queen.

The composition derives from a full-length portrait, painted by van Dyke circa 1633, of the sitter with Sir Jeffrey Hudson; today it hangs in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (inv. no. 1952.5.39). Many contemporary versions were painted and ours is one such version.

Queen Henrietta Maria, born in 1609, was the consort of King Charles I and an influential and fashionable figure at Court. In this charming full-length portrait, she is wearing a satin hunting dress and hat, with a white lace collar and red bow on the bodice.

Henrietta Maria, the youngest daughter of King Henri IV of France and Marie de Medici, represented an exemplary dynastic alliance for Charles. However, she was far from being a mere pawn; the vivacious and lively aspects of her personality are highlighted in the principal version (at the National Gallery of Art, Washington) through the inclusion of two royal favourites: the fourteen-year-old knight, Sir Jeffery Hudsun, and his monkey. Hudson was introduced to the queen at court by the Duke of Buckingham, making a surprising entrance from within a large pie. He proved to be a loyal companion, remaining by her side until her passing.

The Queen' House at Greenwich was completed for Henrietta Maria in around 1638. It was the first wholly classical building in England, and within its walls Maria encouraged dancing, music, poetry, and theatre, reflecting the rich cultural aspirations of the Caroline court.

Due to Maria's Catholic faith, she was met with suspicion by many in England. When the Civil War erupted, she departed England for the Netherlands, where she successfully raised funds to support the Royalist cause by selling or pawning her jewels, before ultimately returning to England in 1643 to reunite with the king. She never fully recovered from his execution in January 1649, and she wore mourning attire until the end of her life. Following the Restoration in 1660, she returned to England in a failed effort to thwart the Duke of York’s marriage to Anne Hyde. In 1665, she left England for France for the final time and died in 1669.

Van Dyke is considered one of the foremost masters of European baroque portraiture. Born in Antwerp, he was the son of a prosperous silk merchant, while his mother was renowned for her embroidery talents; it is thought that this familial background contributed to van Dyck's skill in depicting costume intricacies. He exhibited remarkable talent at an early age and spent several years as an apprentice to the artist Hendrik van Balen. By 1618, van Dyck had been registered as a Master in the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp. He then dedicated the following two years to serving as the principal assistant to Peter Paul Rubens. In 1620, the artist made his inaugural trip to England and is believed to have entered the service of King James I.

From 1623 to 1627, van Dyck travelled and worked in Italy, and upon his return to Antwerp, he discovered that his portraits were highly sought after. In the late 1620s, he undertook a significant project called the Iconography, which consisted of a series of prints depicting renowned princes and aristocrats, published posthumously.

Van Dyck turned to England again in March 1632, where he was knighted and named court painter to King Charles I and his wife. His numerous portraits of the monarch have helped shape historical views of the king's quixotic and tragic character and indeed, of the age in which he lived. Van Dyck is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

Van Dyck infused his portraits of the English royal family, including his depiction of Queen Henrietta Maria, with a tenderness and warmth of expression that fully convey the ideals of peace and harmony that underlay their philosophy of divine right to rule. Van Dyke invented this type of “careless romantic” clothing for his female sitters in England; the style was popular in portraits of court ladies. Throughout the 1630s there was no real change to this iconic image. Had Van Dyke left but this one image of the Queen she would live for us the embodiment of grace, happiness, and queenly dignity.

Earl of Cork is a title in the Peerage of Ireland, held in conjunction with the Earldom of Orrery since 1753. It was created in 1620 for Richard Boyle, 1st Baron Boyle. The heir apparent is the present holder's son Rory Jonathan Courtenay Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan (born 1978).

For 250 years, Marston was the principal English home of the Boyle family, Earls of Cork and Orrery. Although there was an earlier home on the estate, Marston’s modern history began only in 1641, when the ‘Great Earl’ of Cork bought the place for his younger son, Lord Broghill, created 1st Earl of Orrery in 1660.

Held in a boldly carved and gilded frame with leaves and acorns.

Provenance:

Charles Boyle, 10th Earl of Cork and Orrery (1861–1925), at Marston House, Frome, Somerset;

His sale ('The Property of the Right Hon. The Earl of Cork and Orrery, removed from Marston, Frome'), London, Christie's, Tuesday, November 25, 1905, lot 71;

With Robert Dunthorne, The Rembrandt Gallery, Liverpool;

By whom sold, on 12 January 1906, to the grandfather of the present owner;

Thence by descent

Measurements:

Height 91cm, Width 80cm, Depth 8cm framed (Height 35.75”, Width 31.5” Depth 3.25” framed)