Mary of Modena (1658-1718) c. 1685
Watercolour on vellum laid on card | 2.5 x 2.2 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 420093
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Susannah-Penelope Rosse was the daughter of the miniaturist, Richard Gibson, and George Vertue records that 'her first manner she learnt of her father, but being inamour'd with Cooper's limnings, she studied & copy'd them to perfection'. Although she produced many copies of miniatures by Samuel Cooper, she also became a highly competent miniaturist in her own right, developing an important clienteleat the late Stuart court,, and even, on at least one occasion in 1682, sharing a sitting with Sir Godfrey Kneller. The present miniature is an example of her exceptionally diminutive work, and can be compared with both signed (P38-1919) and unsigned (P21-1955) examples on this scale in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. It is possible that it is the miniature of Mary of Modena recorded in the inventory of James II as 'The present Queen, a limning'.
Provenance
Possibly first recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of James II
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour on vellum laid on card
Measurements
2.5 x 2.2 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
3.4 x 3.0 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Reynolds 1999 : Reynolds, G., 1999. The Sixteenth & Seventeenth Century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London – Reynolds 1999 161Cust 1910 : Cust, L., 1910. Windsor Castle: Portrait Miniatures, London – Cust 1910 II/104