
Playing a Part

Eleanor Needham, Lady Byron (1627-64) ©
While many portraits of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries accurately depict the sitters in up-to-the minute fashions, others show people wearing fanciful dress for occasions such as a court masque. The masque was a form of elite courtly entertainment, particularly popular at the courts of James I and Charles I, which combined allegorical storylines with elaborate stage sets and imaginative costumes.
From about 1630 it became increasingly fashionable for women to be depicted in a simplified and more timeless style of dress that differed from fashionable clothing. Anthony van Dyck and subsequently Peter Lely were the leading proponents of the style, with each playing the role of a stylist, modifying the dress of the sitter for its portrayal in paint.
Real people were sometimes portrayed in the guise of a mythological or historical figure, a practice often intended to send a particular message. Being painted in the guise of St Catherine, for example, was popular for female courtiers during the 1660s, intended as flattery towards Queen Catherine of Braganza, wife of King Charles II, who was born on St Catherine’s feast day. The clothing worn in such allegorical images – while sometimes resembling the lines of fashionable styles – was often modified for artistic effect and usually bore a closer resemblance to classically inspired drapery.
Adriaen Hanneman (1604-71)
Mary, Princess of Orange (1631-1660)
Sir Peter Lely (1618-80)
Eleanor Needham, Lady Byron (1627-64)
Attributed to British School, 17th century
Portrait of a Young Girl
John Gerard (1545-1612)
The Herball, or, Generall historie of plantes
Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (c. 1561-1636)
Portrait of an Unknown Woman
British School, 17th century
Portrait of a Woman
Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)
Thomas Killigrew and William, Lord Crofts (?)
Guido Mazzoni (d. 1518)
Henry VIII (1491-1547) when a young boy (?)
Edward Farrell
Toilet service
After Robert Bonnart (1652-1729)
Marie Anne Stuard Princesse d'Orange
Little Gidding community
Needlework casket
British School, 17th century
William III badge
Francis Walwyn (active 1628)
Signet ring
Henry Grendon (active 1640)
Watch
Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Pendant with a miniature of Elizabeth I
? England
Locket with hair of Charles I
? Flemish
Hat badge with St George and the dragon
Lucas Horenbout (c. 1490/5-1544)
Henry VIII (1491-1547)
Robert Vyner (active 1661)