Portrait of Sir Matthew Dudley 2nd Baronet of Clopton C.1675; Attributed to John Greenhill (C.1642-1676), Antique Oil on Canvas Painting

This exquisite work depicts Sir Matthew Dudley, 2nd Baronet (1661-1721) - it was painted by one of the most talented artists working in England during the last half of the 17th century, John Greenhill. Greenhill was at the centre of the artistic scene in London and his achievements may have surpassed even that of Sir Peter Lely - England’s dominant artist at the time – had his life not been cut short when he was barely in his thirties. In fact, George Vertue claimed that Lely was jealous of Greenhill’s ability and that Greenhill was “the most excellent” painter. This portrait was once in the collection of Sir Herbert Henry Raphael, 1st Baronet (1859-1924) - politician and trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, and in recent times it was in the collection of Sir Elton John.

The Dudley family originally descended from the Paganells who soon after the Conquest became barons of Dudley. Our sitter was the oldest son of Sir William Dudley, 1st Bt. of Clopton (1607–1670), who had been rewarded with a baronetcy at the Restoration for services to the Royalist cause, a distinction which elevated the family to the forefront of the Northamptonshire gentry. Sir Matthew married Lady Mary O’Brien, the daughter of Henry O’Brien, 6th Earl of Thomond in 1693. The couple had a daughter and four sons and they lived at the Dudley ancestral home of Clapton Manor, Northamptonshire, which had been in the keeping of the family since the 14th century.

Sir Matthew died on 14th April 1721, ‘about noon’, having directed in his will that his body ‘be buried among my ancestors in the usual burying place in the church of Clopton’. He was succeeded by his only surviving son William, who became Sir William Dudley, 3rd Baronet (1696-1764).

Sir Matthew has been depicted with the grandiloquence characteristic of a nobleman in post Restoration England. Painted circa 1675-1680, he is placed on a porch with a rich crimson drapery. The Roman attire was often used in portraits of the time to provide a sense of timelessness and to evoke a sense of Arcadian tranquillity. Rapid changes in fashion made contemporary dress unsuitable as it quickly made portraits look outdated. The costume also moves the sitter into an idealised world, just as the background with the ancient architecture and illuminated sunset evokes the Arcadian settings of plays and poetry popular at the Court. By this time all educated individuals were familiar with Latin and Greek poetry and the mere inclusion of such motifs in portraiture were immediately recognised by contemporary audiences.

Inscribed: “Sir Matthew Dudley Bar”. Housed in a fine carved and silvered period frame.

John Greenhill was born at Salisbury, Wiltshire around 1642. He moved to London around 1662 and became a pupil of Sir Peter Lely although it seems that he left fairly soon afterwards to establish his own practice. Of all the artists to emerge from the studio of Sir Peter Lely– John Greenhill was the most talented.

Greenhill was at the centre of the artistic scene in London after the Restoration, and he painted most of the leading actors of his generation. He was at first industrious but a taste for poetry and drama, and living in Covent Garden in the vicinity of the theatres, led him to associate with many members of the free-living theatrical world, and he fell into "irregular habits" which led to his untimely death in 1676.

Provenance:

Presumably from the sitter at Clopton Manor, and by descent;

Private UK collection;

Christies, London 1910 (as by Mary Beale) 19 Nov 1910;

With Thomas Agnew & Sons, London;

Sir Herbert Raphael 31 May 1911;

The Property of a Lady, sold Sotheby's, London, 18 October 1989 as John Greenhill;

Property of Sir Elton John, Holland Park, London, his sale Sotheby's London, 30 Sept 2003;

Private collection

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