Titan Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
An inscription on the verso of the canvas states “The Lady Lane Carey” although it has not been possible to determine with certainty the original portrait from which this work derives, it bears an undeniable similarity with at least three other three quarter length portraits by Lely.
It was an established practice in the 17th century to copy in miniature works by Old Masters. According to the detailed accounts kept by Charles Beale (of which there were about 30 of these “pocket books” originally), Mary Beale was coping the portraits of Van Dyke and also her friend Peter Lely, by at least 1676 and some of these have doubtless been assigned to Lely. Some were made on commission – in fact copies after Lely made a significant part of Beale’s income – and others were done for her own “study and improvement” and kept in the studio as patterns for her independent portrait commissions. The account records activities for each day, detailing her commissioned portraits as well as the experimental studies in which it identifies the sitters and usually their poses and it tracks the progress of each work from one sitting to the next, paying particular attention if a novel technique had been used. In addition to “study and improvement” it is likely that the purpose was also to test the commerciality of such layouts.
Many of these copies after Lely were done “in little” generally denoting small paintings on canvas rather than miniatures. They were also, both in recognition of this fact, and of the expense of the pigments that she employed - as costly or more as the larger portraits - and Beale would charge as much as £11 for them. Perhaps owners of the larger paintings commissioned smaller versions already in their possession for their (smaller) town houses.
The “Great” Lely was so taken and fond of Beale’s work he would often remark on this. Never really her teacher, Beale and Lely were friends and she enjoyed the considerable privelege of being able to observe Lely in the act of painting in order to study his technique. Through Beale’s copying and “study” she acquired a purity of colouring – something her portraits are remarkable for. The rich colour, exquisite shimmering draperies, dramatic lighting, and romantic background are typical of Lely. The sitter gazes directly and intently at the viewer, and the rather limpid way the ‘almond’ eyes are painted are typical features of Lely’s work. His sense of theatre and his mastery of colour explains his appeal to the upper echelons of society who sought to increase their ‘brand’ through images depicting them as majestic and sometimes saintly.
This is a recently discovered portrait by Beale, which has come to light following the removal of several layers of discoloured varnish. The composition, with the subject shown seated beneath a rocky outcrop with a landscape beyond, is typical of the exaggerated stage-set approach to portraiture promoted during the period.
Mary Beale (1633 – 1699) was one of the most successful professional female Baroque era portrait painters of the late 17th century and was employed by many of the most distinguished persons of her time. She was exceedingly industrious and experimented with many new materials and techniques. She painted in oil, water-colours, and crayons and worked with a wonderful body of colours. She often employed the use of an elaborate stone cartouche that surrounded her sitters. Her price was five pounds for a head, and ten pounds for a half-length. In 1672 she earned £202 for her commissions, and was charging £5 for a ‘head and shoulders’ and 1677 she had 83 commissions, earning £429. She also had thre
Titan Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
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Portrait of a Lady, 17th Century; Attributed to Mary Beale (1632-1697)
