Charles II: Art & Power @ The Queen's Gallery

Portraits at the Charles II: Art & Power exhibition

There have been a few fine 17th century exhibitions in London over the past few years: Peter Lely at the Courtauld, the fantastic In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion at the Queen's Gallery, The Lost Prince: Henry Stuart at the NPG and the William Dobson 400th anniversary celebration at Somerset House.

Another two were running simultaneously in the capital last year: Charles I, King and Collector at the Royal Academy, and Charles II: Art and Power at the Queen's Gallery. Shamefully I missed the Royal Academy show (though it did get mixed reviews), but did manage to make it along to the Charles II exhibition, which was excellent. Here are some pics ... 

Cromwell and Hesilrig display @ NPG

The display at the National Portrait Gallery.

If you're in London over the next year a couple of small 17th century displays at the National Portrait Gallery are worth catching.

One explores the relationship between art and power during the period, while the other reveals an intriguing discovery about the collection's portrait of Sir Arthur Hesilrig ...

New Worlds to air on April 1st (C4)

The four-part sequel to The Devil's Whore begins on Channel 4 on April 1st (trailer above), with the action this time moving to the latter part of Charles II's reign ...

Half-way house: the Stuarts at Titchfield

The ruins of Place House/Titchfield Abbey. The mansion would have evoked difficult memories for both Charles I and his eldest two sons.

Titchfield Abbey (or Place House) in Hampshire is perhaps best known for its Shakespeare associations: its owner, the Third Earl of Southampton, was the playwright's patron (and, many assume, the 'Fair Youth' to whom the majority of his sonnets are addressed), and some of the bard's plays are believed to have been performed there for the first time.

Less well-known, but no less dramatic, however, is Titchfield's association with the Stuarts ...

Charles II's escape from Worcester

View Charles II's escape from Worcester 1651 in a larger map
I've used Google maps to plot the route of Charles II's escape from the 1651 Battle of Worcester.

Click here to view it in a larger window.

The journey of over 400 miles would not, of course, have followed straight lines, though the map gives an impression of the doubling-back and sharp changes of direction Charles and his changing band of companions needed to evade capture.

A charming contemporary embroidery commemorating the King's escape (Holbourne Museum, Bath)
Explore more interactive maps

Rare 17th century documents up for auction

A number of the documents feature legislation put hastily together in the aftermath of the execution of Charles I and in the immediate months after the Restoration.

A number of rare and important 17th century documents go under the hammer this Thursday.

Mostly printed Acts of Parliament, they include folios proposing support for soldiers maimed during the English Civil War, the establishment of the Post Office in 1660 and a paper (probably) secretly printed by the controversial Royalist Roger L'Estrange ...

Roch Castle restored as luxury retreat

Roch Castle. © Copyright Robin Lucas (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Fancy staying in an English Civil War siege castle?

This one - a couple of miles from Wales's famous Newgale beach - might fit the bill ...

Charles II wanted poster up for auction

A Proclamation for the discovery and Apprehending of Charles Stuart and other
Traytors his Adherents and Abettors (Wednesday September 10th 1651)

'The most important wanted poster of all time' is up for auction in Shropshire next month.

A Proclamation for the discovery and Apprehending of Charles Stuart and other Traytors his Adherents and Abettors was issued by Parliament on the 10th September 1651, a week after the future Charles II fled Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester.

That's not all. Bidders will have the chance to purchase other fascinating 17th century documents ...

'St Martin's Sconce' confirmed in Worcester

Photo: Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service / Arial-Cam

Excavations on a development site close to Worcester city centre have confirmed English Civil War remains first suggested in earlier evaluations.

'St Martin's Sconce' was a bastion constructed as part of the city's defences, and saw action in both the siege of 1646 and the battle of 1651 ...

Stuart art website

The Five Eldest Children of Charles I, Van Dyck, 1637

Laurence Shafe's art history website features a nice set of early Stuart portraits helpfully themed to aid researchers. The two pages on Van Dyck at the royal court are particularly interesting, showing the development of the painter's work during both periods of his life in England ...

Story of a statue

Le Sueur's bronze equestrian statue of Charles I (1633) in Trafalgar Square, London

Ignored by passing traffic and lion-clambering tourists, Hubert Le Sueur's Charles I bronze stares blankly down Whitehall to his place of execution.

The French sculptor's 1633 piece has been in the same position since 1676, surviving well over 300 years of tinkering transport planners, pesky pigeons and plinth pimping.

Remarkable, as but for the actions of one man it would have never have survived the Interregnum ...

400th anniversary of William Dobson

Detail from Dobson's (middle) self-portrait with Nicholas Lanier and Sir Charles
Cotterell, c.1644-5. 

Further evidence that BBC4 is increasing the quality of depth of its schedule was provided by the recent broadcast of The Lost Genius of British Art: William Dobson. English Civil War historians will be well aware of Dobson's role in cultivating the Cavalier image during his time at the Oxford court, but presenter Waldemar Januszczak goes further, claiming him as English painting's first great genius. The programme celebrates the 400th anniversary of the painter's birth, which is also being marked in a display at the National Portrait Gallery and a new website.

But have all Dobson's works been accounted for? ...