School of Fontainebleau (second half of the 16th century) Po...

Estimate

£3,000 - £5,000

School of Fontainebleau (second half of the 16th century) Portrait of a young woman, traditionally identified as Mary Queen of Scots, or possibly representing the allegorical figure of Justice oil on panel 31 x 24cm Provenance: The provenance of the two portraits, as it is still known by family repute, was published in The Art Journal London, Vol. 5, 1859, p. 350, excerpted here: 'There are in the possession of Dr. Copland, of No. 5 , Old Burlington Street, two portraits of Queen Mary, painted by Paris Bordone, in Paris ; one in 1557, about the time of her marriage to the Dauphin, the other in 1560, shortly after his decease. [...] One of the portraits was painted for Mary, daughter of the fifth Lord Livingston, one of the four Marys who attended Mary Stuart to France; the other for John Sempill, second son of Robert, the third Lord Sempill, one of her chamberlains. Soon after their return to Scotland, in 1561 , John Sempill and Mary Livingston were married in Holyrood Palace [...] Their descendant, Francis Sempill, was an adherent of James II., on the occasion of whose abdication he withdrew to the Continent. Captain William Sempill, the grandson of Francis, married Margaret Syeds, a member of a Spanish family long resident on the Continent, and to him both portraits descended as the last male representative of this branch of the Sempill family. By William Sempill they were bequeathed to his niece, Janet Syeds, by whom they were again bequeathed to her niece, Martha Grace Syeds, the late wife of the present possessor [Dr. Copland].' Thence, since the collection of Dr Copland, by family descent to the present owner. Published: The first portrait, with the sitter dressed in red and facing forwards, was reproduced in an engraving by J. Parkin, circa 1851, which was published in: T. Wright, The History of Scotland; from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, published 1852, volume I, page 528, as Mary Queen of Scots J. Watts de Peyster, Mary Stuart, Bothwell, and The Casket Letters, pub. Circa 1890, p. 2, as Mary Queen of Scots The auburn-haired woman in the enigmatic panels presented here has often been identified as Mary, Queen of Scots, who it was thought may have commissioned the small, informal portraits to be presented as gifts to her companions. Although the identity of the sitter cannot be determined with certainty, it is possible that these portraits have their origins in the circles of the French court, where Mary resided for a time as the wife of Francis II. The panels appear closely related to a large canvas representing 'Peace embracing Justice' and attributed to the School of Fontainebleau (a circle of painters active at the Chateau of Fontainebleau during the latter half of the 16th century) was sold at Christie's London, Old Master Pictures, 8 Dec 2004, lot 21 (£71,700 hammer price). The two portraits presented here, possibly by the same unidentified hand as the Christie's canvas, may be preparatory designs for or head studies of the two female figures of 'Peace' and 'Justice'. The Christie's composition is derived from a well-known and popular prototype usually ascribed to the Flemish painter Maarten de Vos. A version by De Vos is in the Hermitage, St Petersburg, inv. No. 7724. Armin Zweite, also referring to a related drawing by De Vos, dates the composition to the early to mid 1570s. The panels were previously thought to have been painted by the Venetian artist Paris Bordone, who at one time was court painter to Francis II. Bordone is known to have completed commissions for Mary, as described by the historian Domenico Maria Federici, in his Memorie Trevigiane, p. 44, referring to the artist painting a Magdalene 'per la Regina'. William Boxall, director of the National Gallery 1866-1874, suggests in his correspondence that if Mary was indeed painted by Bordone, this would have taken place in either 1559 or 1560, after Paris joined the court of Francis II and before Mary's return to Scotland in 1561 after Francis' death. However, given the date of the De Vos composition suggested by Zweite, it is possible that Mary's departure from France predates the portraits and it is perhaps more likely that the portraits represent allegorical figures. Literature: A. Zweite, Marten de Vos als Maler, Berlin, 1980, p. 283, no. 47, and pl. 56). D. M. Federici, Memorie Trevigiane sulle opere di disegno, 1801, vol. 1, p44