Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
A charming portrait of a young lady, little more than a girl, shown within a feigned carved stone oval; this was a fashionable conceit of the time and was much used by Sir Peter Lely and his 'disciple' Mary Beale.
It is almost certain that portrait was to commemorate the betrothal of the young sitter; marriages in the aristocracy were often planned well ahead of the event, sometimes shortly after the birth of the child. It was more like the merger of powerful businesses than marriage as it is understood today.
JOHN GREENHILL (c.1644-1676), was an English born portrait painter whose initial training is unknown but who rivalled the leading London artists of the seventeenth century.
The Restoration of King Charles II (1630-85) stimulated an upheaval within the cultural sphere, in particular artistic patronage. Portrait painters such as Sir Peter Lely quickly found favour amongst the highest ranks of society, and as a result many continental artists migrated to England in a bid to win the patronage of the monarch, prosperous courtiers and powerful statesmen. Greenhill was amongst very few English artists able to compete with the popularity and skill of foreign artists and just one month before his premature death, he was still considered one of the most talented portrait painters of the age.
Of all the artists to emerge from the studio of Sir Peter Lely (1618-80) – the dominant artist in England in the late seventeenth century – John Greenhill was, as George Vertue noted, “the most excellent.” He is known to have joined Lely’s studio by 1662, but seems to have left fairly soon afterwards to establish his own practice. Vertue claimed that Lely was jealous of his pupil’s ability. He was commissioned to paint a number of leading figures of the court, including Anne, Duchess of York, and even the King. However, his dissolute lifestyle led to the end of promising career – he died barely into his thirties, after falling into a gutter, drunk, in Long Acre, leaving a wife and young family behind.
SIZE: 37 x 32 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: London private collection.
Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
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Portrait of a Young Lady C.1665; Attributed to John Greenhill.
