Mary Boleyn Portrait Reidentified in Royal Collection
June 1 2020
Picture: The Royal Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Sunday Telegraph have reported on news of a discovery made in the Royal Collection by the Jordaens Van Dyck Panel Paintings Project (JVDPPP). For a long time the above portrait was simply known as 'Portrait of a Woman' and thought to be a copy of some missing picture. Through diligent research the project was able to reidentify this portrait as an image of Mary Boleyn, sister to the Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn.
The reidentification was made possible by drawing comparison with other versions of Mary Boleyn's likeness including those at Longford Castle and Warwick Castle.
Furthermore, research had shown the portrait to have been one of the '14 Beauties' that decorated Queen Anne's Bathing Room at Windsor Castle. These portraits were mostly seventeenth century copies of known pictures by the likes of Van Dyck, Lely and Cooper. The project was also able to reidentify a stunning portrait by Remigius van Leemput now known to depict Margaret Smith, Mrs Thomas Carey later Lady Herbert.
The JVDPPP have uploaded the full article on their website if you can't get through the Telegraph paywall.
