COMPTON VERNEY.- Inspired by the Warwickshire gallery’s own striking portrait of Sir Thomas Knyvett (c.1569), this is the world’s first exhibition devoted to an important, talented - but almost completely forgotten - painter at the court of Elizabeth I.
Although the artist’s name has been lost, his recognisable approach to capturing a sitter’s likeness inspired the renowned art historian, Sir Roy Strong, to coin the moniker the ‘Master of the Countess of Warwick’ - after the portrait of Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick (c.1569) at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.
Strong initially identified eight portraits in his seminal book The English Icon (1969) as by the hand of the mysterious portraitist, but that number has subsequently grown to almost fifty, with the portrait in Compton Verney’s British Portraits collection now also attributed to the Master of the Countess of Warwick.
The Compton Verney portrait is believed to depict Thomas Knyvett of Ashwellthorpe (about 1539-1617), who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I during her Royal Progress in Norfolk in 1578 and became High Sheriff of Norfolk the following year. The painting is unsigned, but because of its distinctive style it has been attributed to the Master of the Countess of Warwick.
From this arresting image we embark upon a fascinating art historical detective journey, exploring the migration of artists across Europe - and the links between the Low Countries and Britain - along with the connections between miniatures and large-scale portraiture during the 16th century. Tudor Mystery: A Master Painter Revealed focuses closely on the production of art in London during the 1560s, a little-studied period in British art history, when the Elizabethan reign was still in its infancy and many of its key players were on the ascent. It addresses William Cecil, Lord Burghley’s search for a ‘cunning painter’ capable of depicting the Queen, and brings to light exciting connections between artists and media; normally the preserve of academic journals.
The exhibition features loans from public and private collections from across the UK and Ireland, many of which are rarely seen in public, including the exceptional portrait of Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick.
Alongside eight works attributed to the Master of the Countess of Warwick, Compton Verney has also secured loans by contemporaries, including Hans Eworth (c.1520-1574), in whose workshop the Master of the Countess of Warwick is likely to have trained. Displayed together, Eworth’s dazzling portraits of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk (Private Collection) and Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk (Private Collection, on loan to English Heritage) demonstrate how he set the standard for portraiture in the Tudor Britain.
The exhibition also features two miniatures often attributed to the young Nicholas Hilliard (c.1547-1619), which reveal strong links to large-scale portraits by the Master of the Countess of Warwick. Together they help to tell the story of this talented painter’s abilities and the pivotal role that he played in the development of portraiture in Britain.
A unique aspect of the exhibition will be the opportunity to study works attributed to the Master of the Countess of Warwick side-by-side, enabling visitors to actively engage with the questions, problems, approaches and tools that are used by art historians. These will be further articulated through the display of fresh technical analysis, a new film showing the recent conservation of the portrait of Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick, and historical documents that, for the first time in an exhibition context, suggest an identity and a name for this previously unknown Master painter.
It is now believed that the ‘Master’ painted around fifty surviving pictures, which share a number of characteristics, including confident draftsmanship, the distinctive angle of the sitter’s head, sequential and careful paint layering on the face, plus close attention to the details of clothing and jewellery. These tantalising clues and further research in the decades since the publication of The English Icon have coalesced into an intriguing suggestion as to who he really was. However, if you don’t want to know the answer before seeing the exhibition at Compton Verney, look away now…
Arnold Derickson first appeared in Southwark in 1549, as a servant of Hans Eworth. Seven years later he was in St Martin-in-the-Fields, as one of three men bound for appearance of another artist, John Bettes the Elder, at court. In 1558, Derickson married Elizabeth Bettes, who was probably Bettes’ daughter. Derickson remained in St Martin-in-the-Fields after Bettes’ death in 1563, perhaps taking over his father-in-law’s workshop and was still recorded there in 1568.
Whilst it still cannot be proved 100%, Derickson remains the most probable candidate for the Master of the Countess of Warwick, who was highly active in the years 1567-9, and whose work shows the influence of both Bettes and Eworth. A further remarkable aspect of this enigmatic painter was his great popularity, with the Master of the Countess of Warwick completing far more portrait commissions than Eworth in the later 1560s.
The show has been curated by Dr Amy Orrock, Senior Curator at Compton Verney, who says: “This exhibition presents an exciting opportunity to see art history in the making and to actively engage with the ongoing questions faced by art historians. Gathered together for the very first time, these beautiful portraits offer rich and tangible insights into life in Tudor Britain, from the sitter’s clothing and jewellery to their status, ambitions and family relationships. We are delighted to be able to shine a spotlight on new research, which brings this period to life more vividly than ever before.”
The exhibition includes a full public programme of talks and events, an exhibition catalogue with contributions from Dr Amy Orrock and Dr Edward Town FRSA (Head of Collections Information and Access and Assistant Curator for Early Modern Art at the Yale Center for British Art).
