Studio of Sir Peter Lely
Portrait of Eleanor 'Nell' Gwynn (1650-87), c. 1670
Oil on canvas
50 x 40 in. (124 x 99.5 cm)
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com The identity of the sitter is confirmed by a contemporary mezzotint engraving. Nell Gwynn was painted less frequently than the Duchess...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
The identity of the sitter is confirmed by a contemporary mezzotint engraving. Nell Gwynn was painted less frequently than the Duchess of Cleveland, but in addition to this example, a studio repetition of a Lely composition of c. 1667 she was the subject of the memorable nude portrait as Venus with Cupid in which she is attended by her young son, the Earl of Burford, as the god of love. Like other portraits of royal mistresses produced by Sir Peter Lely and his studio in the 1660s and 1670s, this present painting helps to define our image of the lazy hedonism of the court of Charles II. It is clear that the inspiration for these images is the Arcadian portraiture of Van Dyck some thirty years previously, and the lamb alludes to this fashion, and to the contemporary gusto for women to be depicted as Saint Agnes. This is a secular icon, however, alive to the voluptuous possibilities of flesh, and the exposed nipple, never to be found in more respectable subjects, marks this painting as a portrait of a courtesan.
The identity of the sitter is confirmed by a contemporary mezzotint engraving. Nell Gwynn was painted less frequently than the Duchess of Cleveland, but in addition to this example, a studio repetition of a Lely composition of c. 1667 she was the subject of the memorable nude portrait as Venus with Cupid in which she is attended by her young son, the Earl of Burford, as the god of love. Like other portraits of royal mistresses produced by Sir Peter Lely and his studio in the 1660s and 1670s, this present painting helps to define our image of the lazy hedonism of the court of Charles II. It is clear that the inspiration for these images is the Arcadian portraiture of Van Dyck some thirty years previously, and the lamb alludes to this fashion, and to the contemporary gusto for women to be depicted as Saint Agnes. This is a secular icon, however, alive to the voluptuous possibilities of flesh, and the exposed nipple, never to be found in more respectable subjects, marks this painting as a portrait of a courtesan.