1 OF 55

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton

1 of 55 portraits matching 'mytens'

after Daniel Mytens
oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1618
35 in. x 27 in. (889 mm x 686 mm)
Purchased, 1858
Primary Collection
NPG 52

Sitterback to top

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (1573-1624), Patron of Shakespeare. Sitter associated with 11 portraits.

Artistback to top

Daniel Mytens (circa 1590-1647), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 50 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.

This portraitback to top

The inscription refers to Southampton's son, Thomas, who became the 4th Earl and Lord Treasurer of England under King Charles II.

Linked publicationsback to top

Nicholl, Charles, Character Sketches: Elizabethan Writers, 1997, p. 58
Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 576
Strong, Roy, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 1969, p. 299
Toksvig, Sandi; Dyer, Richard, Gay Icons, 2009 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 2 July - 18 October 2009), p. 13

Subjects & Themesback to top

Oil
Painting

Events of 1618back to top

Current affairs

Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban, is appointed Lord High Chancellor. He would be impeached for bribery three years later ending his political career.
Lord High Treasurer Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, and his wife, Katherine, are charged with embezzlement and found guilty the following year.

Art and science

Jurist, politician and scholar, John Selden, publishes his History of Tythes, in which he concedes the legal right of the Church of England to collect tithes, but denies divine authority.
The Royal College of Physicians compiles the London Pharmacopoeia, a standard list of medicines and their ingredients.

International

Sir Walter Ralegh's voyage to Guiana tragically fails. Unable to find treasure, his attack against the Spanish settlement San Thomé, during which his son Walter dies, dangerously jeopardises Anglo-Spanish relations. Ralegh returns home and is executed for treason.
Start of the Thirty Years War, precipitated by the Bohemian Revolt.

Tell us more back to top

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Wil James

30 October 2019, 17:31

The Earl's right elbow appears to be outside an oval "porthole" whereas his main body is inside the "porthole" Can you please explain?

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