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Sir William Petty

3 of 221 portraits matching these criteria:

- subject matching 'Skulls and bones'

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Sir William Petty

by Isaac Fuller
oil on canvas, circa 1651
49 in. x 39 1/2 in. (1245 mm x 1003 mm)
Purchased, 1937
Primary Collection
NPG 2924

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Isaac Fuller (1606-1672), Painter. Artist or producer associated with 12 portraits, Sitter in 3 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Painted when Petty was in his twenties, this portrait shows him holding a skull in one hand with the other resting upon an edition of Adriaan van der Spiegel's De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body), 1627,open at Plate 3.

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Events of 1651back to top

Current affairs

Charles II, crowned King of Scotland, daringly invades England. His defeat at the Battle of Worcester by Oliver Cromwell permanently ends further military action against Parliament. Charles's escape from Worcester becomes legendary, as a fugitive, he seeks refuge for six weeks before finally fleeing to Normandy.

Art and science

Social philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, publishes his major work, Leviathan. Recognised as a cornerstone of western political philosophy, Hobbes's implication that the new political authority should be accepted, angering many exiled royalists.

International

Headed by Chief Justice, Oliver St. John, a delegation is sent by the Rump Parliament to The Hague to negotiate a union between England and the Dutch Republic. The mission fails, principally over refusal by the Dutch to expel the exiled Stuart royal family from the country.

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