Mary, Queen of Scots

1 portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Mary, Queen of Scots

by Francesco Bartolozzi, after François Clouet
stipple engraving, late 18th-early 19th century
15 1/2 in. x 10 3/4 in. (393 mm x 273 mm) plate size; 16 3/4 in. x 11 3/4 in. (424 mm x 300 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
NPG D13124

Sitterback to top

Artistsback to top

  • Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 165 portraits, Sitter in 16 portraits.
  • François Clouet (before 1522-1572), Artist. Artist or producer associated with 5 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Mary's father-in-law, Henri II of France, died in 1559 and her husband the Dauphin succeeded to the throne as François II. He too died, however, shortly afterwards in December 1560, leaving Mary as a widow of nearly eighteen. As a young girl her beauty and charm had captivated the French court; as a widow in her distinctive French white mourning veil, which she wore from the time of the death of her father-in-law and in which she returned to Scotland in 1561, she was perceived as an even more romantic and attractive figure. Her appearance in this costume was recorded not just in the drawing on which this print was based, but also in the poetry of Pierre Ronsard, and in the description of the contemporary chronicler Pierre Brantôme.

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Events of 1770back to top

Current affairs

Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford.

Art and science

Oliver Goldsmith publishes his poem The Deserted Village.
Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke publishes Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents discussing the limits of the King's authority.
17-year-old Thomas Chatterton, later hailed as a significant poet, commits suicide in a London garret.
Thomas Gainsborough paints his portrait of Jonathan Buttall, which later becomes known as The Blue Boy.

International

'Townshend duties' on imports into the colonies are repealed, except for the duty on tea. However, this concession is soon followed by the Boston Massacre, in which British troops fire into an unruly crowd in Boston, killing five.
Captain Cook reaches the eastern coast of Australia, at a place which he names Botany Bay. He discovers the Great Barrier Reef when HMS Endeavour runs onto it. Cook claims New South Wales for the British.

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