Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Circle of Sir Peter Lely
17th Century portrait oil painting of a lady

C1670

$10,463.66
£7,600
€8,951.66
CA$14,334.69
A$15,905.54
CHF 8,331.67
MX$195,044.65
NOK 105,975.91
SEK 100,036.74
DKK 66,758.13
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Circle of Sir Peter Lely Dutch, (1618-1680) Portrait of a Lady, traditionally identified as Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart Oil on canvas Image size: 28 inches x 24 inches Size including frame: 37 inches x 32.5 inches A half-length portrait of a lady dressed in expensive finery, circle of Sir Peter Lely. She wears a peach silk dress and blue robe and is pictured with droplet pearl earrings and matching necklace. Pearls such as these were demonstrations of high social rank. This combined with her dress and bearing all point towards her being a lady of some standing and character as she stares confidently out at the viewer. She holds what is very likely to be Jasmine flowers in her hand, which in addition to being very fragrant are symbols of love, purity and modesty. The portrait is traditionally identified as Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart who was the daughter of Charles I. She was born in 1644 the youngest daughter of Charles I. Due to the Civil War she had to flee the country to live in France with her mother. She married Phillip I, Duke of Orleans and was instrumental in diplomatic negotiations between England and France. She died in 1670. The portrait has clearly been painted by an artist of great ability who has been influenced by Sir Peter Lely. Sir Peter Lely was the leading portrait painter working in England at the court of Charles II during the mid to late 17th century. He was born Pieter van Faes to Dutch parents in Soest, Germany. He studied in Haarlem where he is thought to been apprenticed to Pieter de Grebber. He adopted the surname Lely after becoming a master of the Guild in Haarlem in 1637. He settled in London in 1641 where he became a highly successful court painter of portraits. Lely’s talent was such that his career progressed after Charles I’s execution, and he served both Cromwell and Charles II. Presentation: The painting is housed in a period carved giltwood frame, which is in excellent condition. Condition: As with all of our original antique oil paintings, this work is offered in ready to hang gallery condition, having just been professionally cleaned, restored and revarnished. © Benton Fine Art
  • Creator:
    Circle of Sir Peter Lely (1618 - 1680)
  • Creation Year:
    C1670
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 37 in (93.98 cm)Width: 32.5 in (82.55 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Nr Broadway, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU15626177962

More From This Seller

View All
17th Century portrait oil painting of a lady
By Studio of Sir Peter Lely
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Studio of Sir Peter Lely Dutch, (1618-1680) Portrait of a Lady Oil on canvas Image size: 29.25 inches x 24.25 inches Size including frame: 37...
Category

17th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century portrait oil painting of a lady in an ermine trimmed cloak
By Sir Godfrey Kneller
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Circle of Sir Godfrey Kneller Dutch, (1646-1723) Portrait of a Lady in an Ermine Trimmed Cloak Oil on canvas Image size: 26.5 inches x 22.5 inches Size including frame: 33.5 inches x 29.5 inches A well-executed half-length portrait of a lady painted in a feigned oval, circle of Sir Godfrey Kneller. The use of a feigned oval was a device used in portraiture to give a sense of depth and add an intimacy to the painting, drawing your attention to the sitter. The subject, posed without her wig in the undressed fashion of the day, wears a blue ermine trimmed blue cloak over a white silk robe...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century large scale portrait oil painting of a lady with a lamb
By Arthur Pond
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Attributed to Arthur Pond British, (1701-1758) Portrait of a Lady Oil on canvas Image size: 50.75 inches x 41.5 inches Size including frame: 58.5 inches x...
Category

18th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century portrait oil painting of a girl with an orange
By Robert Byng
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Circle of Robert Byng British, (1666-1720) Girl with Orange Oil on canvas Image size: 29 inches x 24 inches Size including frame: 36 inches x 31 inc...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century portrait oil painting of a gentleman
By John Riley
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Circle of John Riley British, (1646-1691) Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas Image size: 29 inches x 24 inches Size including frame: 36 inches x 31 inch...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century portrait oil painting of a gentleman
By Willem Wissing
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Circle of Willem Wissing Dutch, (1656-1687) Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas Image size: 29 inches x 24.5 inches Size including frame: 35 inches x...
Category

17th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

17th century English portrait of a lady
By Sir Peter Lely
Located in Bath, Somerset
Miss Ada Gossett, circa 1673, half-length in a landscape at dusk, wearing an amber silk gown adorned with a gold trimmed gauze shawl and fine jewels, wearing a pearl necklace, her fa...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

English 17th century portrait of a lady
By Sir Peter Lely
Located in Bath, Somerset
A 17th century English portrait of a lady by Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), half-length in a painted feigned oval, wearing a green silk gown with chestnut coloured cloak over one shoulder, her fair hair curled in the fashionable ringlet style of the period. Oil on canvas in an English giltwood 'Lely' frame. We are grateful to Diana Dethloff and Catharine MacLeod (who are currently working on a Lely catalogue raisonné) for their confirmation of Lely as the artist from photograph analysis of this previously unidentified early work. Provenance: Private collection Nottingham until 2021 Mellors and Kirk sale December 2000, lot 1173 The sitter is likely to have been from an upper class or aristocratic family in court circles, who were the main source of Lely`s patronage. The simple composition serves to highlight the beauty of the sitter through portraying her pale decolletage and complexion, set against the gentle gaze of her blue eyes, the soft blush of her cheeks and her full red lips. Peter Lely (1618-1680) was originally of dutch origin and became Principle Painter to the King in 1661, following in the footsteps of Van Dyck who had died in 1641. He dominated the portrait painting scene in England for over 20 years, creating a distinctive 'court look' in his work which had a strong influence on many other artists. He had an extremely successful and popular portrait practice which meant that he soon had to develop production methods that could accommodate the high demand for portraits, and also for copies and versions of them which were given as gifts to family and courtiers. The use of studio assistants was a common practice for busy artists and as with Van Dyck, Lely is known to have used specialist assistants to execute particular parts of his paintings. Artists who worked in Lely`s studio included John Baptist Gaspars who specialised in drapery painting, William Wissing, John Greenhill...
Category

17th Century Baroque Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Barbara Palmer 1st Duchess of Cleveland
By Sir Peter Lely
Located in Taunton, GB
Portrait of Barbara Palmer 1st Duchess of Cleveland 1640-1709, half-length wearing a red dress and portrayed within a cartouche. Circa 1680 Oil On...
Category

17th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Bridget Drury Lady Shaw, formerly Viscountess Kilmorey
By Sir Peter Lely
Located in London, GB
Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – 1680 London) Portrait of lady with a crown, possibly Bridget Drury Lady Shaw, formerly Viscountess Kilmorey, later Lady Baber (d.1696) c.1665 Oil on canvas 46 1/2 x 40 3/4 inches, Framed 42 1/4 x 36 1/4 inches, Unframed Inscribed left [……….]Isabella James Mulraine wrote the following for this piece: This portrait dates to the middle of the 1660s, the decade when Lely’s career took off as successor to Sir Anthony van Dyck. At the Restoration Charles II had appointed him Principal Painter to the King and paid a pension £200 per annum ‘as formerly to Sr. Vandyke...’1 Lely had trained in Haarlem and he was in his early twenties when he came to London in 1643. He was an astute businessman and a wise courtier. In 1650 he painted a portrait of Oliver Cromwell (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) while maintaining links with the Royalist exiles through the 1650s. He had arrived in England as a painter of small-scale portraits and lush scenes of nymphs in landscapes in a Dutch style. His experience of Van Dyck in English collections transformed his painting. His lavish and alluring vision of Arcadia exactly captured the spirit of the Court and as Principal Painter he dominated English portraiture for the next twenty years. Lely ran a highly efficient studio along Netherlandish lines, employing a team of specialists like the drapery painter John Baptist Gaspars and young artists-in-training like Nicolas de Largilliere. He had numerous rivals during that period, and by 1670 he had introduced numbered standard poses to speed up production, while collaborating with printmakers for further revenue and advertising. He died in 1680 of a stroke while painting, working to the last. The portrait, painted at a date when Lely’s poses and execution were still individual and inventive shows a lady sitting at three-quarter length facing away from the viewer. She has begun to turn towards the viewer, a pose with a long pedigree in art, first used by Leonardo da Vinci in the Mona Lisa (Louvre). She steadies her blue drapery where it might slip from her arm with the movement, a flash of realism beautifully captured. Like Van Dyck, Lely painted his female sitters in a timeless costume rather than contemporary fashion, showing a loose gown and floating silk draperies. It presented the sitter as a classical ideal. The portrait would not date. The saffron dress may be the work of a drapery painter but the brown scarf must be by Lely himself, and appears unfinished, broadly sketched in behind the shoulder. The delicate blue glaze and nervous highlights suggest shimmering translucence. Lely was a master of painting hands – his hand studies are marvels of drawing – and the lady’s hands are superb, exactly drawn, delicately modelled and expressive. The fidgety gestures, clutching the gown, fiddling with the edge of the scarf, give the portrait psychological bite, suggesting the personality behind the calm courtier’s expression, adding to the sense shown in the look of the eyes and mouth that the lady is about to speak. The portrait’s language is Vandykian. The inspiration comes directly from Van Dyck’s English portraits of women. Lely owned Van Dyck’s Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Thimbleby and Dorothy Viscountess Andover (National Gallery, London) and the sitter’s costume quotes Lady Andover’s saffron dress and brown scarf. But Lely paints a generation who sat nearer to the ground and through a dialogue of expression and gesture he shows sitters who are more flesh and blood than Van Dyck’s. The background with a column and curtain is different to those shown in most of Lely’s portraits of women. They tend to include trees or fountains, with a glimpse of landscape. But there are other examples. A portrait of the King’s reigning mistress, Barbara Villiers Duchess of Cleveland...
Category

1660s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century Oil Painting Portrait Of Catherine Of Braganza Circle of Peter Lely
Located in Hoddesdon, GB
Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705), Circle of Sir Peter Lely (1618–1680) Queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland, married to King Charles...
Category

17th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Of Mary Of Modena, Queen Of England, 17th Century Studio Of SIR PETER
By Studio of Sir Peter Lely
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Mary Of Modena, Queen Of England, 17th Century Studio Of SIR PETER LELY (1618-1680) Huge 17th century English Old Master portrait of Mary Of Modena, Queen Of England, o...
Category

17th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil