Charles II and Nell Gwyn

Charles II and Nell Gwyn
ArtistEdward Matthew Ward
Year1854
TypeOil on canvas, history painting
Dimensions34.8 cm × 29.8 cm (13.7 in × 11.7 in)
Location

Charles II and Nell Gwyn is an oil on canvas history painting by the British artist Edward Matthew Ward, from 1854.[1][2]

History and description

It depicts a scene featuring Charles II with his mistress, the celebrated actress Nell Gwyn.[3] The picture is inspired by a passage in John Evelyn's Diary recording how Charles would stop on his walks around St James's Park to openly flirt with Gwyn. It captures the fashions of the Restoration era. Ward, a member of The Clique, had enjoyed major success with other history scenes that appealed to early Victorian tastes, particularly his 1847 work The South Sea Bubble.

The painting is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, having been part of the large Jones Bequest of 1882.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Kern p.165
  2. ↑ Parkinson p.290
  3. ↑ Victoria and Albert Museum
  4. ↑ Art UK

Bibliography

  • Kern, Stephen. Eyes of Love: The Gaze in English and French Paintings and Novels, 1840-1900. Reaktion Books, 1996.
  • Owens, Susan. Imagining England's Past: Inspiration, Enchantment, Obsession. Thames and Hudson, 2023.
  • Parkinson, Ronald. Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990.
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