The Property of the Marquess of Lothian
Italian School, 17th Century
A set of 6 historical portraits comprising: Godfrey of Bouillon (1ꦗ060-1100); George Castriot, known as Skanderberg (1405-68); Gonzalo Ferdández de Córdoba (1453-1515); Charles VIII, King of France (1470–98); Pietro Aretino (1492-1556); Gabriel Bethlen (1580-1629).
Lot Closed
January 20, 03:14 PM GMT
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of the Marquess of Lothian
Italian School, 17th century
A set of 6 historical portraits comprising: Godfrey of Bouillon (1060-1100); George Castriot, known as Skanderberg (1405-68); Gonzalo Ferdández de Córdoba (1453-1515); Charles VIII, King of France (1470–98); Pietro Aretino (1492-1556); Gabriel Bethlen (1580-1629).
each inscribed in L✃atin with the identity of the sitter;
some inscribed with inventory numbers
all oil on canvas
each approx.: 63.5 x 49 cm.; 25 x 19 ¼ in.
(6)
Thence by descent.
Newbattle Abbey inventory, 10 March 1798 (listed in a variety of rooms);
Newbattle Abbey inventory, March 1833, nos 337, 341-42, 351, 356, 358;
R. Wenley, The Lothian Picture Collection: History and Context, M.Litt. diss., University of St Andrews, 1990, pp. 62-64.
William Kerr's (1605-75) legacy to the Lothian collection constituted some 300 pictures, a quantity that is all the more staggering in light of the political upheaval of these decades and William’s relatively small fortune. Chief among his collection were portraits, such as this set - in 1645, for instance, John Clerk (1611-79), Kerr's agent in Europe, refers to his purchase for William of ‘32 pictures off noblemen and uthers in France [sic.]’,1 following the taste for such series of ‘worthies’, that he wou😼ld have seen in the grand Renaissance coll꧑ections he encountered on his Tour.
1 6 April 164🃏5, Par✱is; Clerk to William Kerr, 3rd Earl of Lothian.