Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury

Sitterback to top

• Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563-1612), Statesman. Sitter associated with 21 portraits.

Artistback to top

• John De Critz the Elder (circa 1552-1642). Artist associated with 9 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Like his father William Cecil, Baron Burghley, Salisbury dedicated his life to politics. An MP for Westminster and then for Hertfordshire he was later made Secretary of State, an office he had held for six years when this portrait was painted. On the table beside him is bell, an embroidered seal bag and two letters, one of which details his various offices. Cecil was of small stature with some slight curvature of the spine and was referred to by Elizabeth I as her 'elf' and by James I as his 'pygmy' or 'little beagle'. His motto 'Sero, sed serio' is included in the portrait and can be translated as 'late but in earnest'.
A similar face pattern to that used to produce this portrait was used in the depiction of the sitter in The Somerset House Conference.

Linked publicationsback to top

• MacLeod, Catharine (preface, appreciation) Wilks, Timothy (introduction) Smuts, Malcolm (appreciation) MacGibbon, Rab (appendix), The Lost Prince: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart, 2012 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 18 October 2012 to 13 January 2013), p. 75
• Nicholl, Charles, Insights: Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, 2005, p. 10
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 545
• Strong, Roy, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 1969, p. 274

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

• The Lost Prince: The Life & Death of Henry Stuart (18 October 2012 - 13 January 2013)
• Gunpowder, Treason and Plot (17 September 2005 - 18 December 2005)