$14,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
The Collection of Amb. & Mrs. Alexander Weddell - The Virginia House Museum
Auction: April 10, 2019 11:00:00 AM EDT
Inscribed 'Anno Dni 1616' upper left, with the sitters age 'aetatis suae 67' and 'aetatis suae 7' upper left and upper right respectively; also with the family's coat of arms upper right, oil on panel.
In a 19th century frame.
Provenance: The Collection of Ambassador and Mrs. Alexander Weddell, Richmond, Virginia.
Deaccessioned by The Virginia House Museum to benefit future preservation, acquisitions, and care of collections.
The coat of arms in the upper right corner of this double portrait appears to be that of the Clarke of Houghton Conquest family of Bedfordshire. This explains why the subjects of the present work have previously been identified as Sir Francis Clarke and his daughter Dorothy. However, the Visitations of Bedfordshire record the birth of Dorothy Clarke in 1596, and her marriage in 1617. As the girl in the portrait is said to be aged seven, and the work is dated 1616, the figure cannot be taken for Dorothy Clarke, who was 20 years old at the time. The Clarkes had many relatives, and the portrait may represent another branch of the family, wherein a girl was born circa 1609.
All Tudor and Jacobean portraits of the 16th and 17th centuries follow the same fundamental rule of recording and defining the societal position of the sitter in visual terms. According to Roy Strong(b. 1935) though: "It has needed the revolution of aesthetic values effected by the twentieth century abstractionism to make us understand the bizarre, lost loveliness, of the art of the courts of Elizabeth and James I." Through their use of extremely luxurious and richly decorated garments, which remained under the Hispanic and French influence (and therefore contributed to a still, artificial appearance), the portraits of the reigns of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) and James I (1603-1625) may appear derivative and decayed. Yet, portraiture reached its pinnacle in England at that time, and changed from an instrument of royalty into a true icon of aristocracy. Portraiture became critical among the upper class, who used it to link their personal pride with their desire to own and display their likeness. With their rich costumes and magnificent jewels, the sitters in the present work seem to follow the trend. Their portrait is a symbol of the Clarkes' glory and well-establishment. Both figures look at the viewer with a certain pride, especially the father who gently wraps his arm around his daughter - almost inviting her to engage with us.