Part 6

There has been some question as to the exact ceremony, which is depicted here, but there can be but little doubt that it represents the Chapter of the Order of the Garter, held by Queen Anne at Kensington Palace on August 4th, 1713, when Henry Grey, Duke of Kent, Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, Charles Mordaunt, third Earl of Peterborough, and John, Earl Poulett, were installed as Knights of the Garter. The chapter was the last held by Queen Anne, and was held at Kensington, and not at Windsor, owing to her physical infirmities. Two of these noblemen kneel on the lowest step of the throne, and have already been invested with the mantle and collar of the Order and the Garter itself. The Queen places her hand upon the joined hand of the two Knights of the Garter. It is uncertain which of the noblemen are represented here, but the Knight kneeling on the right of the picture would appear to represent Harley. One of these noblemen is attended by a page boy in grey silk, and the other has two black boys supporting his long blue mantle. Among the Knights of the Garter in attendance, and they all wear their full robes and collars, one figure is prominent holding a long slender wand. This is probably Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury, who was Lord Chamberlain of the Household, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and for a brief period Lord High Treasurer. Two yeoman of the Guard, in the well-known costume, but without ruffs or rosettes to their shoes, holding halberds, stand prominently forth on the extreme left. Through a wide door, in the distant apartments, may be seen a crowd of courtiers waiting for admission, and through the large square panes of the window in a garden are seen clustered various persons in dark and formal attire, peering anxiously through the glass as if to obtain a sight of the ceremonial.

On canvas, 2 ft. 5-1/4 in. high by 1 ft. 11-3/4 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.

41 William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne (_885_) . . . . . KNELLER.

Bust; in an oval turned to the left, face seen in full. He is in armour, and has a blue ermine-lined cape. On canvas, 2-1/2 ft. high, by 2 ft. wide.

The young duke, though of feeble constitution, was not deficient in martial spirit. When but a boy of six years old, he came to meet his uncle William of Orange, who had just returned from a campaign, with a little musket on his shoulder, and presented arms, saying, "I am learning my drill, that I may help you beat the French." The king was so pleased that he made him a knight of the Garter a few days after. Many men have received that honour for less. He died in July 1700.

42 Prince George of Denmark, Husband of Queen Anne (_884_) . . . . . DAHL.

In an oval, to the shoulders; in armour.--His death in this Palace has been mentioned on page 22.

43 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . . . . . JAN WYCK.

Three-quarters length, in armour; face turned three-quarters to the left. His left hand is on his hip, his right on a table by his side, on which is a plumed helmet. A battle scene is shown in the lower right background. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 4 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.

This portrait would seem to represent him as a comparatively young man--about twenty-three--after he had distinguished himself at Maestricht, when he was nicknamed by Turenne "the handsome Englishman." It was the period of his famous _liaison_ with the Duchess of Cleveland, who had fallen a willing victim to his beauty and his charm of manner. Lord Wolseley, in his "Life of Marlborough," describes his appearance at this period as: "Strikingly handsome, with a profusion of fair hair, strongly-marked, well-shaped eyebrows, long eyelashes, blue eyes, and refined, clearly-cut features. A wart on his right upper-lip though large, did not detract from his good looks. He was tall, and his figure was remarkably graceful, although a contemporary says: 'Il avait l'air trop indolent, et la taille trop effilé.'"

=Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.=

Except for the oak panelling, which covered the walls of this room as late as the beginning of this century, but which was removed now many years ago, we see it exactly as it was finished for Queen Mary. Her initial, with that of her husband, King William, appears in the fine carved oak cornice. The ceiling is coved.

At one time this room was called "The Admiral's Gallery," on account of the series of copies of portraits of British Admirals by Kneller and Dahl, which formerly hung here--until their removal in 1835 to Hampton Court, whence they have now been brought back to decorate again the walls of these state rooms at Kensington. They are now hung, as we shall see, in "The King's Gallery."

The dimensions of this room are: 25 feet long by 17 feet 10 inches wide, by 12 feet 7 inches high to the top of the cornice, 15 feet 8 inches to the highest part of the ceiling.

Pictures in Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.

50 Queen Mary, when Princess of Orange (_23_) . . . . . W. WISSING.

Seated, nearly full length. She is dressed in blue in the costume of a lady of the time, and with a crimson mantle edged with ermine. Her left hand rests on a table, over which her mantle falls. Engraved by John Verkolje.

This picture is signed on the left-hand side, and is the original of many replicas or copies at St. James's Palace, at Burley-on-the-Hill, Woburn, The Grove, etc. It was painted for James II., who sent Wissing over to the Hague for the purpose. His popularity as a portrait-painter was great, and was partly due no doubt to his making such flattering likenesses. "When any lady came to sit to him whose complexion was any ways pale, he would commonly take her by the hand and dance her about the room till she became warmer."

51 William III. when Prince of Orange . . . . . W. WISSING.

Three-quarters length, standing; facing to the right, in a rich dress. This is the companion piece to the foregoing.

52 Portrait of James Stuart the Pretender (_664_) . . . . . B. LUTI.

Half-length; facing in front, inclined to the right; his right hand only is seen. He is in the robes of the Order of the Garter, of which the jewel hangs on his breast, and has a long full-bottomed wig, a lace cravat and cuffs. On his left is a table on which is the royal crown of England. The background is gray, with a red curtain. On canvas, 3 ft. 3 in. high, by 2 ft. 6 in. wide.

The canvas is new. Behind was formerly this inscription:--"_James son of James II.; by the Cavaliere Benedetto Luti, from the Cardinal of York's collection at Frascati._" (Note in the _Royal Inventory_.) This picture and No. 839 were bequeathed to George III. by Cardinal York, the old Pretender's son, and the last of the Stuarts, who died in 1807.

It was no doubt painted at Rome, some time between the year 1718, when Prince James accepted the asylum in the Eternal City offered him by the Pope, and the year 1724, when Luti died there. In 1720 he was married to the Princess Sobieski, and at the end of the same year the young Pretender was born.

The Pretender's countenance has that heavy, sodden appearance, and that weak dejected look, which were due partly to his inert character, partly to his misfortunes, and not less to the debauched and indolent life he led. His person, indeed, was never impressive; and even an adherent, writing of the events at Perth in 1715, admits:--"I must not conceal, that when we saw the man, whom they called our King, we found ourselves not at all animated by his presence, and if he was disappointed in us, we were tenfold more so in him. We saw nothing in him that looked like spirit. He never appeared with cheerfulness and vigour to animate us. Our men began to despise him; some asked him if he could speak."

Gray the poet gives a similar account of him some years after:--"He is a thin, ill-made man, extremely tall and awkward, of a most unpromising countenance, a good deal resembling King James II., and has extremely the air and look of an idiot, particularly when he laughs or prays; the first he does not do often, the latter continually." Horace Walpole observed that "enthusiasm and disappointment have stamped a solemnity on his person, which rather creates pity than respect."

53 Frederick, Prince of Wales, at a Party (_606_) . . . . . M. LAROON?

The Prince is at the head of the table, round which eight ladies and gentlemen are seated. He is pouring wine into a glass. Some thirteen persons, attendants, and a clergyman, are also in the room. Most of them are probably portraits. Altogether twenty-three small figures. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 10 in. wide.

This picture, though long labelled "Vanderbank," is probably by Marcellus Laroon, the younger, to whom it is attributed in an old catalogue. The likelihood that he is the painter is greatly strengthened by the close resemblance in style between it and the similar piece that follows--the personages evidently being the same.

It is not certain what is the subject represented; though it has borne the above title for many years. In one of the Lord Chamberlain's old inventories it is stated to represent "a fête in honour of the marriage of the Duke of Wharton."

54 A Royal Assembly in Kew Palace . . . . . MARCELLUS LAROON.

This represents some Royal assembly, apparently Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and her friends, in Kew Palace. The Princess in blue is pouring out the tea; a lady in white is singing; Handel is at the harpsichord, and "Orator" Henley close by. The equestrian portrait on the wall appears to be George II.

Signed _Mar. Laroon_, and dated _1740_. Lent by Mr. Humphry Ward.

55 Matthew Prior . . . . . _By Thomas Hudson, after_ JONATHAN RICHARDSON.

Half-length, seated, almost in profile to the right. On canvas, 3 ft. 4 in. high, by 2 ft. 9 in. wide. Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.

Prior--poet, statesman, and diplomatist--published with Charles Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, in 1689, "The City Mouse and the Country Mouse," intended to ridicule Dryden's "Hind and Panther." He was patronized by Dorset, who introduced him to the Court; and he was often employed in diplomatic offices.

56 Flower-Piece--_over the mantelpiece_ (_826_) . . . . . BAPTISTE.

A green glass vase with chrysanthemums, poppies, honeysuckles, etc. Baptiste was a _protégé_ of Queen Mary, and painted a great number of flower-pieces to decorate Kensington and Hampton Court.

57 Portrait of Robert Boyle the Philosopher (_56_) . . . . . KERSEBOOM.

Nearly full-length, seated in a big armchair; turned to the right, but facing in front. He leans his right arm on the chair; his left is turning over the leaves of a book on a table in front of him. He wears a large full-bottomed wig. This picture has been engraved by Baron several times.

Boyle, the famous chemist and experimental philosopher, was the seventh son of the first Lord Cork, and from him received a fortune of _£_3,000 a year, which he devoted in a great measure to scientific research and the promotion of the Christian religion. He was never married, being of opinion that "a man must have very low and narrow thoughts of happiness or misery who can expect either from a woman's conduct." For his life, see his _Philaretus_.

Frederic Kerseboom was a native of Germany, who worked at Paris and Rome under Le Brun and Poussin. He was in England during William III.'s reign, and painted a few indifferent portraits.

58 Portrait of John Locke (_947_) . . . . . KNELLER.

Half-length, standing; turned to the right, but facing in front. He rests his left hand on a table, on which are an inkstand and a pen; his right hand in front of him. He wears a plain black coat, with part of his shirt showing; and he is without his wig, and shows his long white hair.

This is one of Kneller's best portraits. It was evidently painted in the philosopher's later years, for he looks here on the point of dying of the asthma to which he succumbed in 1704. "Pray," said Locke in a letter to Collins, "get Sir Godfrey to write on the back of my picture 'John Locke;' it is necessary to be done, or else the pictures of private persons are lost in two or three generations."

59 Sir Isaac Newton (_957_) . . . . . KNELLER.

Three-quarters length; turned to the left, facing in front. His right arm is by his side, his left leans on a table, on which are a globe and a book. He wears a dark, loose robe, and a large wig. On the left is inscribed: "_I Newton Esq^{re} Ætatis_ 47. 1689."

There is a similar portrait to this at Petworth, which is engraved in Lodge. Newton was at this time member of the Convention Parliament, for the University of Cambridge.

59A King William III. (_779_) . . . . . KNELLER.

Three-quarters length in armour, directed to the right; face turned round to the left. He wears a blue and gold sash. In the left background is a black servant, perhaps the one whose marble bust is now in this palace.

=Queen Caroline's Drawing Room.=

In entering this room we pass from the portion of the palace built in 1690 by Sir Christopher Wren for William and Mary, to that constructed by William Kent about 1723 for George I. The visitor has thus a good opportunity of comparing the styles and tastes of the two architects and of gauging their relative powers. Wren had been driven from his office, in 1718, by a shameful backstair intrigue; and two years afterwards, Kent, doubtless by the influence of his patron, the Earl of Burlington, was commissioned to build a set of new state rooms.

How very mediocre were his talents, the exterior of his addition to Wren's work will, as we have already said, ever remain a palpable proof; and though for internal construction he shows less incapacity, still this room exhibits all his false ideas of pseudo-classicism--developed, as we shall see, to a most extravagant extent in the adjoining "Cube or Cupola Room."

Examining the decoration in detail, we perceive everywhere evidences of his awkward, graceless style. The doorways, for instance, are unnecessarily lofty and gaunt, and with their heavy cumbrous architraves, flat moulded, with little light and shade, greatly impair the proportions of the room. In the tall semi-circular headed central window also, surmounted by a purposeless oak bracket--even in such details as the mouldings of the panelling and of the framing of the doors, and the flatness of the raised panels and their relative sizes to the width of the rails and "stiles,"--we detect his marked inferiority to Wren in the designing of such fittings.

The =chimney-piece=, which is one of Kent's plainer and less ponderous ones, is of a choice marble, veined black and gold.

The dimensions of this room are: 32 feet 9-1/2 inches long, 24 feet 2 inches wide, and 19 feet 2 inches high to the top of the cornice, 24 feet to the ceiling.

Painted Ceiling of Queen Caroline's Drawing Room.

But it is by the ceiling especially, with its great heavy oval frame of plasterwork, and its appearance of overhanging crushing weight, that we can most accurately appreciate Kent. The central recessed panel, containing an allegorical representation of Minerva, attended by History and the Arts, gives us a measure of his powers as a pictorial artist. The decorative painting of the cove of the ceiling, above the oaken cornice, is more satisfactory. In the four angles, and in the middle of each side, are classical pediments with volutes.

Besides, the workmanship of the wainscoting being very good, and the original rawness of the ceiling somewhat faded, this room, with its new oak floor, its gorgeous paper, its Georgian furniture, probably designed by Kent, and the magnificent frames of some of the pictures on its walls, presents a fine and stately appearance.

Contemporary French and German Portraits.

60 Madame de Pompadour (_986_) . . . . . DROUAIS.

Half-length, seated, turned to the left. She wears a dress of figured brocade, worked with coloured flowers and foliage on a white ground, and trimmed with white ribbons; her sleeves are short and edged with lace. On her head is a sort of mob cap, or headdress of lace, tied under the chin with a striped ribbon; her hair is short and powdered. In front of her is a frame of embroidery called tambour-work, which she is working, her right hand being above, and her left under the canvas. The background is grey, with a red curtain to the right. Painted in an oval. On canvas, 2 ft. 7-1/2 in. high, by 2 ft. wide.

This picture has been attributed, but quite unwarrantably, to Greuze, who does not appear to have painted Louis XV.'s mistress at all, and certainly could not have done so when she was as young as she is here represented. It is in fact a replica (and by no means a bad one) of a portrait by Drouais, of which a great many repetitions are extant, and of which the original--a full-length--is now at Mentmore, Lord Rosebery's. The Mentmore picture was purchased for £1,000.

Drouais was an indifferent artist whose name would long have passed into oblivion, had he not painted princes and princesses. Diderot drew this just estimate of his works:--"Tous les visages de cet homme-là ne sont que le rouge vermillon le plus précieux, artistement couché sur la craie la plus fine et la plus blanche.... Il n'y en a pas une de laide, et pas une qui ne déplût sur la toile. Ce n'est pas de la chair; car, où est la vie, l'onctueux, le transparent, les tons, les dégradations, les nuances?" And Larousse endorses this view with the following remarks:--"Toutes ces peintures, habilement traitées d'ailleurs comme métier, n'ont rien de saillant, aucune puissance, aucune originalité. Les têtes sont banales, ternes, sans physionomie. L'allure est gauche et pénible. Les personnages sont fort mal habillés, bien que les draperies soient exécutées en trompe-l'oeil et avec magnificence."

Madame de Pompadour is here represented at about the age of thirty-five, a period when, having lost the influence of a lover over the debauched and fickle Louis XV., she endeavoured to retain her power by ministering to his pleasures and vices. Her appearance completely tallies with the account given of her:--"Elle était assez grande, bien faite, les cheveux, châtain clair, tres-beaux, avec une peau d'une grande finesse et d'une blancheur éclatante. Mais elle avait un genre de beauté qui se fane vite: ses chairs molles s'infiltraient, s'enflammaient aisément; elle avait des langueurs et des pâleurs maladives."

The tambour-work at which she is engaged was one of her favourite occupations; and it is pleasant to remember, with the shocking record of her extraordinary career, that she created that style in decoration, furniture, dress, literature, and even art, which is known by the name of Louis XV., a style which, wanting as it is in the simplicity of mediævalism, and stamped though it be with the character of its meretricious inventor, is yet always pleasing from a certain refinement and artificial beauty.

61 Mademoiselle de Clermont (_984_) . . . . . _unnamed._

Half-length, facing in front, hands not seen. She is dressed in a white dress, with a garland of flowers across it from under her left arm to her right shoulder. Behind her she has a blue scarf. Her hair is powdered and done high up. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, by 2 ft. wide.

Behind is written:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. nommeo. Mademoiselle. de. Clermont._"

She was born in Paris in October, 1697, and was the daughter of Louis, the third Duke of Bourbon, and his wife Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, a natural daughter of Louis XV. In 1725 she was appointed "Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine." The story of her and her lover, M. de Melun, and his tragic end, forms the basis of Madame de Genlis' charming little novel, "Mademoiselle de Clermont."

This portrait is painted in the style of Nattier.

62 Louis XVI. in his Coronation Robes (_516_) . . . . . CALLET.

Full-length, standing, facing to the left. His left hand holds his hat by his side, his right leans on his sceptre. He is attired in the royal robes of France, a purple mantle embroidered with fleurs-de-lys, and an ermine tippet, etc. He has a small wig; his face is shaven. Behind him is his throne, with a figure of Justice. On canvas, 9 ft. high, by 6 ft. 5 in. wide.

This is the original presentation frame, decorated with fleurs-de-lys.

Though formerly labelled "Greuze," it is really a replica of Callet's well-known portrait, of which, besides the original at Versailles, there are other repetitions at Madrid and elsewhere, distributed to the various courts of Europe on the king's accession. The original was engraved by Bervic, the greatest of French engravers, the plate being lettered with the painter's name, "Callet Peintre du Roi."

63 Portrait of Louis XV. when young (_925_) . . . . . RIGAUD.

Half-length, turned to the left; his left hand is in his sash, his right holds a marshal's bâton. His dress is a fawn-coloured doublet with a cuirass, a blue sash, and a blue mantle embroidered with a fleur-de-lys over it. Short hair, beardless face. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 5 in. wide.

This portrait was painted by Rigaud, as the contemporary mezzotint engraving by J. Simon proves, and not, as has been said, by Mignard, who had been dead thirty years. He is considered one of the best French portrait-painters of that period. Louis XV. conferred several favours on him, and decorated him with the Order of St. Michael, in 1727, soon after this portrait was painted. This distinction was given, as he said, "tant en considération de la réputation acquise dans son art, que pour avoir peint la famille royalle jusqu'à la quatrième génération."

64 Marianne, Duchess of Bourbon (_985_) . . . . . SANTERRE?

Half-length, facing in front; her hands not seen. Her hair is dark, and dressed high, with a blue ribbon fastened over with a red jewel, and carried to the front. Her dress is yellow brocade with red drapery. On canvas, 2 ft. 5 in. high, by 2 ft. wide.

Behind is written in ink:--"_Marianne. de. bourbon. fille. de. Monsieur. le. prince. de. Conty. famme. de. Monsieur. le. duc. de. bourbon._"

She married, in 1713, Louis Henri de Bourbon, brother of Mademoiselle de Clermont (see No. 61), and died in 1720. There is a portrait of her husband at Paris, by Drouais.

The portrait before us is very possibly by Jean Baptiste Santerre, a good painter whose works are rare. He died in 1717.

65 The Emperor Paul of Russia (_894_) . . . . . ----?