Alathea, Countess of Arundel and Surrey

Sitterback to top

• Alathea (née Talbot), Countess of Arundel and Surrey (circa 1590-1654), Heiress, patron of art; wife of 2nd Earl of Arundel and Surrey. Sitter associated with 32 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Daniel Mytens (1590-1647), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 51 portraits, Sitter associated with 5 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Alathea Talbot, Countess of Arundel, was the daughter of Gilbert, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. In this portrait she sits before an idealised view of a gallery, perhaps that at Arundel House on the Strand in London, which was hung with the portraits which her husband had inherited from his great-uncle Lord Lumley, the outstanding collector of the Elizabethan era. Although soberly dressed, the Countess wears magnificent jewels, including a diamond brooch incorporating the letters 'IHS' for Christ. The rococo frame to this portrait may be the work of Jean Antoine Cuenot who was employed by the 9th Duke of Norfolk in the 1750s to make frames for works in his collection.

Related worksback to top

• NPG 5292: Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, 4th Earl of Surrey and 1st Earl of Norfolk (companion portrait)
• NPG D11108: Alathea, Countess of Arundel and Surrey (related to)

Linked publicationsback to top

• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 19
• Simon, Jacob, The Art of the Picture Frame: Artists, Patrons and the Framing of Portraits in Britain, 1997 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 8 November 1996 - 9 February 1997), p. 12

Subjects & Themesback to top

• Art in art
• Carpets and textiles
• Chairs
• Doorways and archways
• Known interiors