Windsor Beauties
The Windsor Beauties are a set of portrait paintings, still in the Royal Collection, by Sir Peter Lely and his workshop, produced in the early to mid-1660s, that depict ladies of the court of King Charles II, some of whom were his mistresses.[1][2] The name stems from the original location of the collection, which was at Windsor Castle. In 2022, they were on display at Hampton Court Palace.
A set of copies was commissioned by
The portraits
The Royal Collection includes 10 portraits as part of the set. They show the women at three-quarter length in various poses. Some women wear current fashions; others are draped in loose robes intended to evoke classical antiquity.
Originally commissioned by
List of "Beauties"
The original set of "Beauties" painted by Lely include, depending on the source, these 12 portraits:
- Elizabeth, Countess de Gramont (née Hamilton)[6][7]
- Jane Myddelton (née Needham)[6][7]
- Margaret, Lady Denham (née Brooke; named Elizabeth in the cited printed sources [and in 18th century prints] but Margaret at the Royal Collection)[6][7]
- Frances, Lady Whitmore (née Brooke)[6][7]
- Mary, Countess of Falmouth and Dorset (née Bagot; named Elizabeth in the cited printed sources [and in 18th century prints] but Mary at the Royal Collection)[6][7]
- Henrietta, Countess of Rochester (née Boyle)[6][7]
- Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland (née Villiers)[6][7]
- Anne, Countess of Sunderland (née Digby)[6]
- Emilia Butler, Countess of Ossory[6] (Melville omits this name, citing Ernest Law that the portrait previously identified by this name is actually Lady Falmouth)[7]
- Madame Henrietta, Duchess of Orléans[7]
The portraits for the first 10 names are included at the Royal Collection website as "probably commissioned by Anne Hyde, Duchess of York."
The Duchess of York does not figure in the above list often; but since she was largely responsible for the collection, and choosing the sitters, she was also painted as part of the series. Possibly a little flattery from Lely was responsible for this.
Gallery
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Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, c. 1662
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Jane Needham, Mrs Myddleton, c. 1663-65
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Margaret Brooke, Lady Denham, c. 1663-65
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Frances Brooke, Lady Whitmore, c. 1665
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Mary Bagot, Countess of Falmouth and Dorset, c. 1664-65
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Henrietta Boyle, Countess of Rochester, c. 1665
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Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, c. 1665 (as Minerva)
See also
- Hampton Court Beauties, a later set by Sir Godfrey Kneller, also on display at Hampton Court Palace
- Gallery of Beauties, a still later set in Munich
References
- ^
Jones, Robert W (1998). Gender and the Formation of Taste in Eighteenth-Century Britain: The Analysis of Beauty. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521593267. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ Hamilton, Adrian (16 April 2012). "Carry on, your majesty: Charles II and his court ladies". The Independent. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ Spencer, Charles, Althorp: The Story of an English House.
- ^ ISBN 9780300116564.
- ISSN 0954-6650.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cunningham, Peter (1865). "The Early Painters of England: Peter Lely". The Art Journal. 27 (Vol. 4, New series): 8.
- ^ ISBN 1-932690-13-1.
External links
- 58 minute video by Dr Lawrence Shafe, "The Windsor Beauties at Hampton Court"
- Timms, Elizabeth Jane, "Looking at the Women behind the Windsor Beauties", 11 October 2017
- Search for Windsor Beauties by Sir Peter Lely at the Royal Collection website, example (direct link)
- The Windsor Beauties: Ladies of the Court of Charles II by Lewis Melville. Loving Healing Press, 2005. ISBN 978-1-932690-14-9.