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Description: | The portrait painter Daniel Mytens (about 1590 - about 1648) was born and trained in Holland. He came to England before 1618 and together with Cornelius Johnson was an important catalyst for the development of portraiture in England before Van Dyck's arrival in 1632. An efficient draughtsman he established a successful practice in full-length portraits. He entered royal service in 1624 and was appointed 'one of our picture drawers' by Charles I in 1625, attracting a life pension. He retired to Holland soon after 1632. As the inscription on this painting indicates, Elizabeth Howard was the daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and of his second wife Catherine Knevet, the founder of Charlton Park where the Suffolk collection was housed. Aged nineteen Elizabeth Howard married fifty-eight year old William Knollys in 1605 (whose portrait is the 'pendant' to this one). She had two sons during this marriage, Nicholas (born 1628) and Henry (born 1630). However because her husband was over 80 years old at the time it was believed their father was Edward, 4th Lord Vaux of Harrowden whom Elizabeth married five weeks after the death of her first husband. The attention to the finely wrought embroidery of the sitter's elegant black and silver dress, the impressionistic handling of her white handkerchief and the illusion of special depth suggested by the chair on which she rests her hand combine to make this painting one of Myten's finest. | Subjects: | Countess of Suffolk) portrait (Elizabeth Howard | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Mytens, Daniel, I (Dutch painter, ca.1590-before 1648) Æ | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8728... | Go to resource |
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