The return of a portrait once believed to be of Lady Jane Grey, but then considered not to be of her, to Wrest Park has led to new research into the painting and the view that, after all, if could well be of her. Although damaged and considerably affected by restoration and apparent overpainting the panel has been dated by dendrochronology to the period 1539 to 1571, the right time for the painting to have been done in her lifetime. The fact that it had been deliberately defaced might well suggest that happened following the events of 1553-4. The face appears to agree with written descriptions of her. The subsequent renovation might suggest that occurred when she was being presenter as a Protestant martyr, with less emphasis on her noble status as was originally the case.
In recent years what is now referred to as the
‘Streatham’, which was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in the 1990s, has become for the moment, the accepted contemporary image of Lady Jane. It is apparently a late sixteenth century copy by an indifferent artist of a lost original, and similar to the ‘Houghton’ portrait, which can be seen at The Tudors ~ The Houghton Portrait
The history and context of the Streatham painting is discussed on Wikipedia at Streatham portrait
Sir Roy Strong in the 1960s concluded that an NPG full length portrait was of the ‘Nine Days Queen’ but this is now universally accepted as actually being of Queen Catherine Parr.
David Starkey favoured in the 1990s a miniature now in the Yale Centre for British Art as the sole surviving image, and he is very critical of the authenticity of the ‘Streatham’ image. However the miniature has not gained universal acceptance as being of Lady Jane.
The history of these and other portraits that have been suggested as being, or possibly being, of her is set out in considerable detail by the Katherine the Queen website in the appropriate section at The Tudors
There are in fact a considerable number of candidates for being a portrait of Lady Jane, and they cannot all be of her. The real questions lie in deciding which are the more likely amongst so many candidates, many of which are copies.
The Duckett portrait is accessible in full colour on Wikimedia at Lady Jane Grey – The Duckett Portrait.
The painting at Wrest does have resemblances to the Northwick Park painting, which may represent what the original intention of the artist was. It can be seen at Lady Jane Grey Northwick Park.
The new research on the Wrest portrait is illustrated in a series of articles from different newspapers, including the Daily Mail at The real face of Lady Jane Grey revealed?, by the Daily Telegraph at Is this the real face of Lady Jane Grey?, by the Guardian at Sole portrait of England’s ‘nine-day queen’ thought to have been identified by researchers, and by the Independent at Researchers think they’ve unearthed the only portrait of England’s ‘nine-day queen’
The more specialised source Artnet reports on the story at Is This The Only Portrait Of Tudor Queen Lady Jane Grey?
The identification proposed for the Wrest Park portrait is challenged by J. Stephan Edwards, who has written a comprehensive study of the attributed portraiture of Lady Jane, on his well researched and presented website Some Grey Matter, and that, and much else about the life and death of Jane, can be seen at Re-Visiting the Wrest Park Portrait: A Rebuttal - Lady Jane Grey
The National Trust website for the later family home of the Greys, descendants of Lady Jane’s uncle, at Dunham Massey in Cheshire has a section on portraits of Lady Jane at
When it comes to literary portraits Lady Jane Grey was made into a Protestant Martyr by John Foxe, and so successfully that, reinforced by nineteenth century romanticism, it remains an image that is hard to question.
One writer who has challenged the received image is the American writer Susan Higginbotham. A lawyer by training she writes historical novels about England in the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as well as about the US Civil War. I have not read any so far, though I have one in my pile of books to read, but from her website it is clear that she seeks to be historically accurate and balanced in her work. That website susanhigginbotham.com is both an excellent resource to correct the failings of so many other novelists writing historical fiction and also displays a nice line in ironic humour. The ‘Humor’ section is well worth perusing.
From her various posts about Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey, the Abused Child challenges the image of her as the mistreated daughter of brutish and unfeeling parents. Fifteen Aids to Grey Is a humorous, nay sharply edged, critique of the way historical novelists have written about her life. As the modern saying has it, Enjoy.
Both with the suggested portraits and the literary evidence any assessment of the ‘Nine Days Queen’ will depend to a great extent on the preconceptions and sympathies of the investigator. It is a story that is test for all interested in understanding the events of those tumultuous years.
No comments:
Post a Comment