Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Gilbert Soest
Portrait of a Judge, 17th Century English Oil Portrait Painting

About the Item

Oil on canvas, on board Image size: 30 1/4 x 27 inches (76.75 x 68.5 cm) Contemporary style handmade frame This is a attention-holding portrait of a 17th century English judge in his judicial robes. The unknown man is seated from the waist up, against a plain background. He wears the red robes and bands of a judge of the mid 17th century with a skullcap over his natural hair. It is likely that this man was a judge in a 'fire court' and is probably Sir Matthew Hale (1609-1676). After the Great Fire of London in 1666 tenants were also supposed to pay rent while their burned houses were being rebuilt. This was clearly untenable and so an emergency ‘Fire Court’ was set up to sort out disputes that arose out of the rebuilding, such as who should pay to rebuild. The judges had the power to decide who should rebuild, based on ability to pay, and could cancel contracts. This stopped disputes from dragging on and enabled Londoners to rebuild as soon as possible. The Court sat in Cliffords Inn and held its first session on 27 February 1667 and last in September 1672. Gilbert Soest Gerard Soest (circa 1600 – 11 February 1681), also known as Gerald Soest, was a portrait painter who was active in England during the late 17th century. He is most famous for his portraits of William Shakespeare and Samuel Butler, but painted many members of the English gentry. Soest was traditionally thought to have come from Soest in Westphalia, but was probably from Soest, Netherlands, being Dutch by birth and training. He seems to have been in England by the late 1640s, and his paintings at this time show the influence of William Dobson. His earliest known work is dated 1646. He had a moderately successful career, but was never fashionable and never managed to get commissions from courtiers and royalty. Soest's portrait of Shakespeare was owned by Thomas Wright of Covent Garden in 1725 when it was engraved by John Simon. It was painted by Soest at least 30 years after Shakespeare's death. George Vertue states that it was based on a man who resembled Shakespeare, while the pose and costume suggest the influence of the Chandos portrait.
  • Creator:
    Gilbert Soest (1600 - 1681)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30.25 in (76.84 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    1 of 1Price: $12,213
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU52413325302

More From This Seller

View All
A Young Lady
By William Edward Frost
Located in London, GB
Oil on board Image size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches (14 x 11.5 cm) Original 19th century oval mount and frame Provenance; With Richard Naworth, Blackburn William Edward Frost (September 1810 – 4 June 1877) was an English painter of the Victorian era. Virtually alone among English artists in the middle Victorian period, he devoted his practice to the portrayal of the female nude. Specialising in portraiture from about 1830, Frost painted more than 300 portraits during a 15-year period, and showed some as his first exhibits from 1836. William Edward Frost was born in Wandsworth, then in Surrey, in September 1810. He showed artistic talent from an early age, and was encouraged in this by his father: first by his arranging drawing lessons with a Miss Evatt, a neighbouring amateur, and then, in 1825, by his introducing him to William Etty, who became his mentor. On Etty’s recommendation, he entered Henry Sass’s School for Drawing and Painting at 6 Charlotte Street, in 1826, and spent three years there, while also studying at the British Museum each winter. Frost was educated in the schools of the Royal Academy, beginning in 1829; he established a reputation as a portrait painter before branching into historical and mythological subjects, including the subgenre of fairy painting...
Category

19th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Portrait of a Privateer
By Francis Hayman
Located in London, GB
Portrait of a Privateer Francis Hayman 1708 - 1776 Oil on canvas Image size: 20 x 14 inches (51 x 36 cm) Contemporary style frame Provenance Charles Fleischmann Esq Here, a small ...
Category

18th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sailor Smoking a Pipe
By Arthur David McCormick
Located in London, GB
Sailor Smoking a Pipe Arthur David McCormick Oil on canvas Image size: 19 x 25 1/2 inches (48 x 65 cm) Contemporary frame Arthur David McCormick (1860–1943) was a notable British illustrator and painter, renowned for his landscapes, historical scenes, naval subjects, and genre scenes. Born in Coleraine, County Londonderry, he pursued his education at the Royal College of Art in London from 1883 to 1886. McCormick’s career was marked by his contributions to various illustrated magazines, including the English Illustrated Magazine and the Illustrated London News. He participated in significant expeditions, such as Sir Martin Conway’s journey to the Karakoram Himalayas in 1892 and Clinton T. Dent’s expedition to the Caucasus Mountains in 1895. His illustrations from these travels were featured in Conway’s book “Climbing and Exploration in the Karakoram-Himalayas” (1894) and his own publication “An Artist in the Himalayas” (1895). Throughout his career, McCormick illustrated nearly thirty books, focusing on travel and adventure themes. Some of his notable works include illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tales of Mystery and Imagination” (1905) and Henry Newbolt’s “Drake’s Drum and Other Songs of the Sea” (1914). He was also a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1889 to 1938. Navy Cut Sailor Work...
Category

20th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Young Boy Carrying a Fruit Basket, 18th Century Oil on Canvas
By Thomas Beach
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches (76 x 63.5 cm) Contemporary hand-carved frame This is a charming 18th century portrait of a young boy, sporting a golden child's two-piece w...
Category

18th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of King Edward VI, Oil on panel with Gold Leaf, 18th Century English
Located in London, GB
Oil on oak panel Image size: 25 1/2 x 19 inches (37.5 x 27 inches) 18th Century Auricular gilt frame Provenance New York private collection This portrait of the King Edward VI depicts the boy-king standing in a black and gold embroidered doublet, wearing a jewelled cap. King Edward holds a staff with a globus cruciger set on the table beside him. No expense has been spared in the making of this piece, with gold leaf being applied in many areas to give the effect of the costume's gold embroidery, chain of office and other metal accessories. As the precious male heir to the Tudor dynasty...
Category

Early 18th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Portrait of a Young Boy Carrying a Fruit Basket, 18th Century Oil on Canvas
By Sir William Beechey
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches (76 x 63.5 cm) Hand carved gilt frame This is a charming 18th century portrait of a young boy, sporting a golden child's two-piece with a fl...
Category

18th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

"Anyone for Croquet" Herbert Gustave Schmalz, Portrait by Pre-Raphaelite Artist
Located in New York, NY
Herbert Gustave Schmalz Anyone for Croquet, circa 1898 Signed lower right Oil on canvas 47 5/8 x 31 3/4 inches Provenance Anthony Mitchell, Nottingham Burlington Gallery Ltd., Londo...
Category

1890s English School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

EARLY / MID 20TH CENTURY English School Oil Painting INTERIOR SELF PORTRAIT
Located in Cirencester, GB
ARTIST: Unsigned (early / mid 20th Century) English School TITLE: "Self Portrait In A Round Mirror" SIGNED: appears unsigned MEDIUM: oil on canvas SIZE: 73cm x 62cm inc frame CONDIT...
Category

Early 20th Century English School Interior Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid-18th-Century English School, Portrait Of A Girl With A Posy
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This exceedingly charming mid-18th-century English oil painting depicts a girl wearing a red gown with a train over a white petticoat. She’s holding a posy or nosegay. Evidently once commissioned for an English country house, the identity of this young lady remains a mystery. Her gown appears to be inspired by the popular ‘robe à la française...
Category

1740s English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Bloody Shouldered Arabian Horse Oil on canvas 18th Century
By John Wootton
Located in London, GB
John Wootton (1686 - 1764) The Bloody-Shouldered Arabian Oil on canvas Inscribed below, 'Bred by Lord Oxford in 1755 & Sire of many famous Racers, including the Duke of Bolton's 'Swe...
Category

Early 18th Century English School Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Windsor Mail Coach Horses Oil on canvas English 19th Century
By Charles Cooper Henderson
Located in London, GB
Charles Cooper Henderson (English, 1803-1877) Windsor Mail Coach Oil on canvas With chalk inscriptions verso Property of a gentleman From the collection of Peter Roe Dimensions: (F...
Category

Mid-19th Century English School Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Hare coursing outside a country house with hounds Oil British 18th Century
Located in London, GB
Thomas Burford (British, c. 1710-1779) Hare coursing outside a country house Oil on canvas Property of a gentleman From the collection of Peter Roe Dimensions: (Frame) 12.5 in. (H)...
Category

18th Century English School Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Recently Viewed

View All