BARBARA VILLIERS,
DUCHESS OF CLEVELAND
by Sir Peter Lely, c.1664

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- The Sitter

The Portrait

The leading painter in England after the death of Van Dyck, Peter Lely was appointed Principal Painter to Charles II in 1660. In this position he created a new aesthetic for court portraiture, which came to define the way in which the court saw itself and the way in which it has been perceived by posterity. Lely was hugely dominant and very influential, both on his contemporaries and on those who came after him.

Barbara Villiers was effectively Lely's muse, and her looks were the inspiration for his type of female beauty. A contemporary commented that 'he put something of Cleveland's face as her Languishing Eyes into every one Picture, so that all his pictures had an Air one of another, all the Eyes were Sleepy alike'. Lely himself is said to have commented 'that it was beyond the compass of art to give this lady her due, as to her sweetness and exquisite beauty.' Lely and Villiers had a mutually beneficial relationship, in which her prominence at court promoted his art and his art publicised her beauty and status. He seems to have painted her more than anyone else, and his studio assistants and followers also produced numerous versions of these compositions.

Probably dating from about 1664, the painting is a portrait historié, or a portrait showing a recognisable sitter posing in the role of a figure from history or mythology. Lely produced a number of such portraits, in particular of Barbara Villiers, including one of her as St Catherine, and another as Minerva. This portrait, of the King's mistress and bastard as the Madonna and Child, represents the climax of his work in this genre, the most audacious of his role portraits, and perhaps the most audacious such portrait produced in the seventeenth century. It could only have been produced at this time and in this place; as such it could be seen as the ultimate representation of the values of Charles II's court.

Although various versions of this painting are known (including a slightly later copy in the Gallery's collection), the original was lost from early last century until 2001 when it appeared unexpectedly at Christie's. It is clear that this is the original of the type. Not only is it signed, but the quality of its execution far exceeds all the other versions, and is of the standard of Lely's greatest works. The heads of the sitters, the landscape background and the hand of Barbara Villiers are particularly beautiful passages.

The catalogue of the exhibition Painted Ladies: Women at the Court of Charles II provides much additional information on both the Duchess of Clevalnd and Sir Peter Lely and can be purchased through our online shop.

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All images and text are subject to copyright protection. 08 October 2008