King Charles I

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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King Charles I

by Unknown artist
oil on canvas, late 17th century or early 18th century
33 in. x 29 in. (838 mm x 737 mm)
Given by Mme Jean Hugo in memory of Hedley Hope Nicholson, 1971
Primary Collection
NPG 4836

Sitterback to top

  • King Charles I (1600-1649), Reigned 1625-49. Sitter associated with 335 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Unknown artist, Artist. Artist or producer associated with 6578 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This posthumous portrait of Charles I is one of many that celebrates the dead king as a martyr. The composition seems to be based on a print by William Faithorne Jr. The scroll reads 'Corruptibilem pro Incorruptibile', which is a Latin version of the words spoken by Charles I at his execution: 'I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown'. The sunburst frame gives an impression of heavenly light. Like a monstrance in a church, it marks the picture out as an object of veneration.

Related worksback to top

Linked publicationsback to top

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Events of 1670back to top

Current affairs

Charles II mistress, Barbara Villiers, is created Duchess of Cleveland and granted Nonsuch Palace including its sizeable grounds.
Actress and royal mistress, Nell Gwyn, gives birth to Charles II's son, Charles, who would later become, Duke of St. Albans.

Art and science

Tragicomedy, The Forc'd Marriage, by Aphra Behn, staged by the Duke's Company, starts Behn's career as a professional writer. The writer may have been a royalist spy towards the end of the interregnum.
Poet laureate, John Dryden, is made historiographer royal, a post he would hold for nearly 20 years.

International

Terms of a secret treaty between Charles II and Louis XIV are brought by Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans during a visit to Dover; upon England supplying the majority of military power for a war against Holland and Charles's official conversion to Catholicism, France would assist financially.

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