Elizabeth Wriothesley (née Vernon), Countess of Southampton

1 portrait matching these criteria:

- subject matching 'Jewellery - Hair ornaments'

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Elizabeth Wriothesley (née Vernon), Countess of Southampton

by Unknown artist
oil on panel, circa 1620
28 7/8 in. x 20 1/2 in. (733 mm x 521 mm)
Transferred from The British Museum, London, 1879
Primary Collection
NPG 570

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  • Unknown artist, Artist. Artist or producer associated with 6578 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Elizabeth Vernon married Shakespeare's patron Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton in 1598. This portrait shows her in her forties, after several decades of marriage. She wears an 'S' pendant that alludes to her marital title, and a locket, probably containing a miniature portrait, hanging from a gold chain.
X-ray photography has revealed that a portrait of a man was painted beneath this image. The figure can be seen slightly lower and to the right of the existing portrait. It closely resembles the composition of portraits of her husband made around the same time.

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Events of 1620back to top

Current affairs

The beginning of a severe economic depression in England is widely blamed on the East India Company whose export of bullion on each voyage financed their trade. Additionally, despite efforts by Lionel Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex, to reduce the royal household's expenditure, James I's debt is historically high.

Art and science

Francis Bacon publishes his major philosophical work Novum Organum, which presents his account of the correct method of acquiring natural knowledge using inductive reasoning.
Inventor and mechanical engineer, Cornelis Drebbel builds an early type of submarine which he demonstrates on the Thames.

International

The Catholic League's invasion of Bohemia and victory at the battle of the White Mountain, forces Frederick V, king of Bohemia and his family into exile in the Hague, after less than a year reigning.
The Pilgrim Fathers sail for America in the 'Mayflower', escaping religious persecution in England.

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