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Vetusta Monumenta: Ancient Monuments, a Digital Edition

Plate 1.4: Engraving of a Portrait of Richard II in Westminster Abbey

Plate 1.4 of Vetusta Monumenta shows a portrait of Richard II, c. 1395, in Westminster Abbey: the earliest known portrait of an English monarch. The engraving preserves design elements that were destroyed in 1866, but also gives a more idealized representation of the monarch’s features than does the portrait itself. Engraving by George Vertue after Giuseppe Grisoni. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1718. Current location: Westminster Abbey, London, UK .

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2. Plate 1.1: Engraving of a Bronze Lamp found at St. Leonard's Hill, Windsor Plate 1.1 of Vetusta Monumenta depicts a medieval bronze lamp, likely dating from the thirteenth or fourteenth century, with circular base added in the eighteenth century. The lamp was originally thought to be Roman when it was discovered c. 1705. Engraving by George Vertue after John Talman. 236 x 184 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1718. Current location: Society of Antiquaries of London (LDSAL 59), London, UK.
3. Plate 1.2: Engraving of The Horn of Ulf Plate 1.2 of Vetusta Monumenta depicts an early eleventh-century Viking charter horn made from elephant tusk (possibly by Islamic craftsmen) in Salerno, Italy, with new silver mounts added in 1675. The horn was given to York Minster c. 1036 to symbolize a gift of land from Ulphus or Ulf Toraldsson. Engraving by George Vertue after B. M. 281 x 389 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1718. Current location: York Minster, York, UK.
4. Plate 1.3: Engraving of the Baptismal Font at St. James's, Piccadilly
5. Plate 1.4: Engraving of a Portrait of Richard II in Westminster Abbey Plate 1.4 of Vetusta Monumenta shows a portrait of Richard II, c. 1395, in Westminster Abbey: the earliest known portrait of an English monarch. The engraving preserves design elements that were destroyed in 1866, but also gives a more idealized representation of the monarch’s features than does the portrait itself. Engraving by George Vertue after Giuseppe Grisoni. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1718. Current location: Westminster Abbey, London, UK .
6. Plate 1.5: Engravings of Three Medieval Seals Plate 1.5 of Vetusta Monumenta depicts three medieval seals: the Seal of Clare College, Cambridge (1359), the seal of the Cathedral Priory of St. Etheldreda, Ely (c. 1280), and seal of the Priory of Cottingham (1322). Engraving by George Vertue after his own drawings. 173 x 233 mm [upper portion] and 172 x 228 mm [lower portion]. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1720. Current locations: The top seal is in Clare College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK; an impression of the center seal is in Westminster Abbey (WAM 7933), London, UK; the bottom seal is in the British Museum (1913,1105.2), London, UK.
7. Plate 1.6: Engraving of the Ruins of Walsingham Abbey Plate 1.6 of Vetusta Monumenta depicts the ruins of Walsingham Abbey in Norfolk, including some remains which are no longer standing. This topographical print is the earliest example of a more popular approach in Vetusta Monumenta, reflecting a taste for landscapes with ruins. Engraving by Gerard Vandergucht after J. Badslade. 135 x 257 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1720. Current location: Little Walsingham, Norfolk, UK.
8. Plate 1.7: Engraving of Waltham Cross Plate 1.7 of Vetusta Monumenta depicts the Waltham Cross, one of the twelve monuments that Edward I ordered to be built between 1291 and 1294 to commemorate the funeral procession of Queen Eleanor. The print documents the early preservation efforts of the Society of Antiquaries of London. The cross was re-engraved by James Basire Sr. after Jacob Schnebbelie for the third volume of Vetusta Monumenta (Plate 3.16), where it appears with two more of the Eleanor Crosses. Engraving by George Vertue after William Stukeley. 490 x 301 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1721. Current location: Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, UK.
9. Plate 1.8: Engraving of a Plan of Ancient Verulamium Plate 1.8 of Vetusta Monumenta reproduces an extensively labeled map of the Roman remains of Verulamium with inset images of two ancient British coins and a section of Roman wall. Engraving by George Vertue after William Stukeley. 297 x 484 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1721. Current location: Stukeley’s original map is preserved at the Bodleian Library (Gough Maps 11, fol. 20B); the Roman ruins today are encompassed by the modern city of St. Alban’s, Hertfordshire, UK.
10. Plate 1.9: Engravings of the Ruins of Fountains Abbey (1 of 4) Plates 1.9-1.12 of Vetusta Monumenta depict the ruins of the twelfth-century abbey church of Fountains, Yorkshire, with extant monastic structures. The images offer significant visual evidence of the site as it stood in 1722, recording subsequently lost fabric, including the late twelfth-century cloister arcades, the tracery of the main windows of the abbey, the presbytery arcades and high altar enclosure. Engravings by George Vertue after Samuel Buck. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1723. 190 x 367 mm, 189 x 364 mm, 192 x 370 mm, and 194 x 371 mm. Current location: Fountains, Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK.
11. Plate 1.10: Engravings of the Ruins of Fountains Abbey (2 of 4) Plates 1.9-1.12 of Vetusta Monumenta depict the ruins of the twelfth-century abbey church of Fountains, Yorkshire, with extant monastic structures. The images offer significant visual evidence of the site as it stood in 1722, recording subsequently lost fabric, including the late twelfth-century cloister arcades, the tracery of the main windows of the abbey, the presbytery arcades and high altar enclosure. Engravings by George Vertue after Samuel Buck. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1723. 190 x 367 mm, 189 x 364 mm, 192 x 370 mm, and 194 x 371 mm. Current location: Fountains, Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK.
12. Plate 1.11: Engravings of the Ruins of Fountains Abbey (3 of 4) Plates 1.9-1.12 of Vetusta Monumenta depict the ruins of the twelfth-century abbey church of Fountains, Yorkshire, with extant monastic structures. The images offer significant visual evidence of the site as it stood in 1722, recording subsequently lost fabric, including the late twelfth-century cloister arcades, the tracery of the main windows of the abbey, the presbytery arcades and high altar enclosure. Engravings by George Vertue after Samuel Buck. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1723. 190 x 367 mm, 189 x 364 mm, 192 x 370 mm, and 194 x 371 mm. Current location: Fountains, Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK.
13. Plate 1.12: Engravings of the Ruins of Fountains Abbey (4 of 4) Plates 1.9-1.12 of Vetusta Monumenta depict the ruins of the twelfth-century abbey church of Fountains, Yorkshire, with extant monastic structures. The images offer significant visual evidence of the site as it stood in 1722, recording subsequently lost fabric, including the late twelfth-century cloister arcades, the tracery of the main windows of the abbey, the presbytery arcades and high altar enclosure. Engravings by George Vertue after Samuel Buck. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1723. 190 x 367 mm, 189 x 364 mm, 192 x 370 mm, and 194 x 371 mm. Current location: Fountains, Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK.
14. Plate 1.13: Engravings of St. Benet’s Abbey Gatehouse (1 of 2) Plates 1.13-1.14 of Vetusta Monumenta depict the fourteenth-century monastic gatehouse of St Benet’s at Holme, cumulatively creating a panoramic survey of the gatehouse as it stood in the early 1720s. The gatehouse was already ruinous when these plates were published and was substantially dismantled by about 1730. Engravings by George Vertue after John Kirkpatrick and Edmund Prideaux. 205 x 389 mm and 206 x 318 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1724. Current location: Horning, Norfolk, UK.
15. Plate 1.14: Engravings of St. Benet’s Abbey Gatehouse (2 of 2) Plates 1.13-1.14 of Vetusta Monumenta depict the fourteenth-century monastic gatehouse of St Benet’s at Holme, cumulatively creating a panoramic survey of the gatehouse as it stood in the early 1720s. The gatehouse was already ruinous when these plates were published and was substantially dismantled by about 1730. Engravings by George Vertue after John Kirkpatrick and Edmund Prideaux. 205 x 389 mm and 206 x 318 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1724. Current location: Horning, Norfolk, UK.
16. Plate 1.15: Engraving of the Tomb of Robart Colles Plate 1.15 of Vetusta Monumenta depicts the late fifteenth- or early sixteenth-century chest tomb of Robart Colles with paneled sides around which runs the inscription “Robart Colles Cecili his vif.” The drawing imaginatively transposes the crowned letters of the inscription into an enlarged framework that surrounds the image of the tomb. Engraving by George Vertue after Edmund Prideaux. 204 x 328 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1724. Current location: Holy Innocents Church, Foulsham, Norfolk, UK.
17. Plate 1.16: Engraving of the Shrine of Edward the Confessor Plate 1.16 of Vetusta Monumenta depicts the thirteenth-century shrine base and feretory canopy of St Edward at Westminster Abbey. It is the first two-page image in Vetusta Monumenta. The larger format reflects the elaborate artistry of the monument itself and the importance of Edward the Confessor in the historiographical imagination of eighteenth-century English antiquaries. Engraving by George Vertue after John Talman. 445 x 336 mm (bifolium). Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1724. Current location: Westminster Abbey, London, UK.
18. Plate 1.17: Engravings of Whitehall and King Street Gates (1 of 3) Plates 1.17-1.19 of Vetusta Monumenta depict two gatehouses built for Henry VIII along the road through Whitehall Palace: the so-called “Holbein Gate” (completed in 1532), and the King Street Gate (completed c. 1548). Engravings by George Vertue after his own drawings. 421 x 268 mm, 387 x 260 mm, and 373 x 192 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1725. Current location: Both gatehouses were demolished, the Whitehall or “Holbein” Gate in 1723 and the King Street Gate in 1759.
19. Plate 1.18: Engravings of Whitehall and King Street Gates (2 of 3) Plates 1.17-1.19 of Vetusta Monumenta depict two gatehouses built for Henry VIII along the road through Whitehall Palace: the so-called “Holbein Gate” (completed in 1532), and the King Street Gate (completed c. 1548). Engravings by George Vertue after his own drawings. 421 x 268 mm, 387 x 260 mm, and 373 x 192 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1725. Current location: Both gatehouses were demolished, the Whitehall or “Holbein” Gate in 1723 and the King Street Gate in 1759.
20. Plate 1.19: Engravings of Whitehall and King Street Gates (3 of 3) Plates 1.17-1.19 of Vetusta Monumenta depict two gatehouses built for Henry VIII along the road through Whitehall Palace: the so-called “Holbein Gate” (completed in 1532), and the King Street Gate (completed c. 1548). Engravings by George Vertue after his own drawings. 421 x 268 mm, 387 x 260 mm, and 373 x 192 mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1725. Current location: Both gatehouses were demolished, the Whitehall or “Holbein” Gate in 1723 and the King Street Gate in 1759.
21. Plate 1.20: Engravings of the Medals of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, and James I Plate 1.20 from Vetusta Monumenta depicts one coin and five medals: a silver crown of Henry VIII (c. 1545), a Coronation Medal of Edward VI (1547), a unique copy of the "Dangers Averted" or "Armada Medal" of Elizabeth I (1589), the Phoenix Jewel (c. 1570-1580) of Elizabeth I along with the motto from a silver medal of the same (1574), and a struck gold medal of James I commemorating the Peace with Spain (1604). Engraving by George Vertue after his own drawings, completed in at least three states between 1723 and 1731. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1731. Current locations: the coin of Henry VIII is currently in the collections of the University of Oxford. The Phoenix Jewel (SLMisc.1778), an example of the 1574 silver medal of Elizabeth I (M.6902), and an example of the 1604 gold medal of James I (1844,0425.24) are in the British Museum. The originals of the Coronation Medal of Edward IV and the 1588 medal of Elizabeth I here engraved are now lost.
22. Plate 1.21: Engravings of the Westminster Tournament Roll (1 of 6) Plates 1.21-1.26 of Vetusta Monumenta reproduce the Westminster Tournament Roll, a nearly sixty-foot vellum roll that illustrates the jousting tournament held by Henry VIII on 12 and 13 February 1510/11, along with the “articles of the tilt”: a document that appears to be either an emended or grossly imperfect copy of the “Westminster Tournament Challenge” (Harley 83 H 1, now in the British Library), or a copy of a different document altogether, the location of which today remains untraced. Engravings by George Vertue after the original manuscript. 245 x 492 mm, 242 x 488 mm, 243 x 490 mm, 245 x494 mm, 253 x 503 mm, and 251 x 501mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1726. Current location: The Westminster Tournament Roll remains in the College of Arms, London, UK.
23. Plate 1.22: Engravings of the Westminster Tournament Roll (2 of 6) Plates 1.21-1.26 of Vetusta Monumenta reproduce the Westminster Tournament Roll, a nearly sixty-foot vellum roll that illustrates the jousting tournament held by Henry VIII on 12 and 13 February 1510/11, along with the “articles of the tilt”: a document that appears to be either an emended or grossly imperfect copy of the “Westminster Tournament Challenge” (Harley 83 H 1, now in the British Library), or a copy of a different document altogether, the location of which today remains untraced. Engravings by George Vertue after the original manuscript. 245 x 492 mm, 242 x 488 mm, 243 x 490 mm, 245 x494 mm, 253 x 503 mm, and 251 x 501mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1726. Current location: The Westminster Tournament Roll remains in the College of Arms, London, UK.
24. Plate 1.23: Engravings of the Westminster Tournament Roll (3 of 6) Plates 1.21-1.26 of Vetusta Monumenta reproduce the Westminster Tournament Roll, a nearly sixty-foot vellum roll that illustrates the jousting tournament held by Henry VIII on 12 and 13 February 1510/11, along with the “articles of the tilt”: a document that appears to be either an emended or grossly imperfect copy of the “Westminster Tournament Challenge” (Harley 83 H 1, now in the British Library), or a copy of a different document altogether, the location of which today remains untraced. Engravings by George Vertue after the original manuscript. 245 x 492 mm, 242 x 488 mm, 243 x 490 mm, 245 x494 mm, 253 x 503 mm, and 251 x 501mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1726. Current location: The Westminster Tournament Roll remains in the College of Arms, London, UK.
25. Plate 1.24: Engravings of the Westminster Tournament Roll (4 of 6) Plates 1.21-1.26 of Vetusta Monumenta reproduce the Westminster Tournament Roll, a nearly sixty-foot vellum roll that illustrates the jousting tournament held by Henry VIII on 12 and 13 February 1510/11, along with the “articles of the tilt”: a document that appears to be either an emended or grossly imperfect copy of the “Westminster Tournament Challenge” (Harley 83 H 1, now in the British Library), or a copy of a different document altogether, the location of which today remains untraced. Engravings by George Vertue after the original manuscript. 245 x 492 mm, 242 x 488 mm, 243 x 490 mm, 245 x494 mm, 253 x 503 mm, and 251 x 501mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1726. Current location: The Westminster Tournament Roll remains in the College of Arms, London, UK.
26. Plate 1.25: Engravings of the Westminster Tournament Roll (5 of 6) Plates 1.21-1.26 of Vetusta Monumenta reproduce the Westminster Tournament Roll, a nearly sixty-foot vellum roll that illustrates the jousting tournament held by Henry VIII on 12 and 13 February 1510/11, along with the “articles of the tilt”: a document that appears to be either an emended or grossly imperfect copy of the “Westminster Tournament Challenge” (Harley 83 H 1, now in the British Library), or a copy of a different document altogether, the location of which today remains untraced. Engravings by George Vertue after the original manuscript. 245 x 492 mm, 242 x 488 mm, 243 x 490 mm, 245 x494 mm, 253 x 503 mm, and 251 x 501mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1726. Current location: The Westminster Tournament Roll remains in the College of Arms, London, UK.
27. Plate 1.26: Engravings of the Westminster Tournament Roll (6 of 6) Plates 1.21-1.26 of Vetusta Monumenta reproduce the Westminster Tournament Roll, a nearly sixty-foot vellum roll that illustrates the jousting tournament held by Henry VIII on 12 and 13 February 1510/11, along with the “articles of the tilt”: a document that appears to be either an emended or grossly imperfect copy of the “Westminster Tournament Challenge” (Harley 83 H 1, now in the British Library), or a copy of a different document altogether, the location of which today remains untraced. Engravings by George Vertue after the original manuscript. 245 x 492 mm, 242 x 488 mm, 243 x 490 mm, 245 x494 mm, 253 x 503 mm, and 251 x 501mm. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1726. Current location: The Westminster Tournament Roll remains in the College of Arms, London, UK.

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Plate 1.4: Portrait of Richard II Plate: Engraved by George Vertue (1684-1756) after Giuseppe Grisoni (1699-1769) in 1718, from the collection of John Talman (1677-1726 ). The minutes for 19 February 1718 state that “it is proposd . . . to engrave Richard ii’s picture in Westminster Abby, and Mr. Director Talman is desird and authorisd to have a Drawing taken of it with all convenient speed” (SAL Minutes I.10). The print was distributed to members and also released to booksellers to sell at two shillings and sixpence a copy, with sixpence profit to the sellers (I.19).

Object: Portrait of Richard II, oil on panel, c. 1395, 7’ x 3 ½’, formerly attributed to André Beauneveu (c. 1335-c. 1400). The raised gesso background, cross, and scepter featured prominently in the engraving were leveled when the painting was restored in 1866; the current frame was also added at that time. The portrait is currently located in Westminster Abbey, on the south side of the nave near the west entrance. It was probably painted in situ and moved to its current location when the old stalls were dismantled in 1775.

Transcription:

RICHARDVS II REX ANGLIӔ / Ex Tabula antiquissima In Choro D. Petri Westmonast: Pulvinari insidet aureo induiturq[ue] interiori veste viridi, cui grandiusculi intexuntur Flores aurei, et Nominis sui elementum initiale coronatum: Uterq[ue] Pes emicat ostro et crepidis aureis velatus: Totum circum fundit Trabea coccinea Pellibus Armenianis duplicata, quӕ et aureo Collari subnectitur. Gypso inaurato variisq[ue] Flosculis et Crucibus protuberanti quod reliquum est Tabulӕ obducitur. SOCIETAS Londini Rei Antiquariӕ Studiosa in Ӕre incidi Curavit A.D. MDCCXVIII. / Long. ped. 6. Unc. 11. Lat. ped. 3. Unc. 7. Ex collectione J. Talman, Ar. [George] Vertue Sculp.

Translation:

Richard II, King of England, From a very ancient painting in the sanctuary of St. Peter’s Westminster: He sits on a gold cushion and wears a green vest, in which are embroidered rather large gilded flowers and the first initial of his name, which is crowned: each foot pokes out, covered in purple socks and gold slippers: Enveloping him is a scarlet mantel lined with ermine, which is also secured with a gold collar. The rest of the painting is enclosed by a gypsum background gilt with raised little flowers and crosses. The Society of Antiquaries of London had it engraved in copper in the year 1718. From the collection of J. Talman, Esquire. Vertue, engraver.

Commentary by Noah Heringman: George Vertue’s highly finished engraving of this historic portrait—as drawn for the purpose by Giuseppe Grisoni—lavishes attention on the king’s robes, reproducing the materials and drapery with minute precision. In one respect however, the eighteenth-century artists depart significantly from the original. The painting shows a sour-faced king, with the corners of his mouth turned downward, leading Richard’s biographer Nigel Saul to observe that “in the haunting portrait in Westminster Abbey he comes across as a lonely, even a bitter, man” (1997, 453). The engraving not only turns the corners of his mouth upward, it also erases the strong lines leading from the nose down to the corners of the mouth and considerably widens the eyes and forehead, creating a more youthful and benevolent monarch. In addition, there is an obvious error, a left-right reversal common in print media: in the painting, Richard’s left eye is higher than his right. Other minor alterations are more decorative in nature: the shape of the crown is more slender and elegant, Richard’s hair is more orderly, and the artists have employed a more sophisticated knowledge of perspective to give the seat and arms of the chair more depth.

Unlike the previous two plates (Plates 1.2 and 1.3), prepared from pre-existing drawings, both the drawing and the engraving for this plate were specially commissioned for the series, as indicated by the Minute Book (SAL Minutes I.94). As usual with these early plates, the minutes provide no clue as to the antiquaries’ motivation for recording (and preserving) this object. Like the previous two plates, this one shows a substantial work of art permanently exhibited in a church and unlikely to be moved or exhibited elsewhere. With its depiction of a late medieval artifact, this plate falls between the previous two in date, indicating that the chronological scope of Vetusta Monumenta was broad and ambitious from the beginning. The choice of subject seems to have more to do with the quality of the painting than with a resurgence of interest in Richard himself, though the volume as a whole shows a strong interest in royal monuments including the Eleanor Crosses of Edward I (Plate 1.7), the tomb of Edward the Confessor (1.16), and a roll depicting a tournament at the court of Henry VIII (1.21-1.26) (also in Westminster Abbey). Apart from its size and splendor, special features of the painting highlighted by the Latin caption include extensive gilding and the use of raised and textured surfaces, especially the background, which the engraving captures well. Most important, it is an ancient painting (tabula antiquissima), today still one of the oldest known examples of panel painting in England, and hence an important exhibit in the case for the legitimacy of British antiquities.

Part of the task of interpreting this plate is to reconcile the antiquarian interest of the picture, as “the earliest known portrait of an English monarch,” with its intrinsic aesthetic appeal ("Richard II"). Vertue’s engraving uses careful shading to achieve in black-and-white a surprising degree of the visual interest highlighted in the same modern description: “the vivid colours show the king in a green tunic decorated with the letter R, wearing a crimson robe lined with ermine, an ermine cape, vermilion socks and gold shoes” (“Richard II”). Richard is shown seated in the so-called Coronation Chair built by Edward I, which has been used for every English monarch’s coronation since that time. In keeping with Richard’s reputation for show, this portrait consolidates into the pictorial space many of the material symbols of royal power. As suggested by Joseph Ayloffe’s (1708-1781) research in the muniment room of Westminster a few decades later, the antiquaries had an abiding interest in archival material and probably were aware of the documents that verify Richard’s particular generosity toward the abbey. Besides other benefactions, Richard supplied £20 to the abbey to pay the artist (still unidentified) for this portrait and another work (Lethaby 1934, 221).

The engraving produces a king who conforms more closely than the original portrait to a historiographic tendency established during Richard’s lifetime by the poet John Gower, who called him “the most beautiful of kings” and “the flower of boys” (quoted in Saul 1997, 452). Laurence Echard, whose History of England was published the same year as this engraving, similarly refers to Richard as “the most amiable and handsom” prince, “as to his person,” since the Norman Conquest, while also lamenting that he obtained “the most absolute power”—a more familiar aspect of Richard’s legacy (1718, 413). Saul also touches on Richard’s appearance, and concern with his appearance, when he notes that “no English king before Henry VIII devoted so much attention to the portrayal of himself” (1997, 460).

The writings of Ayloffe, an important contributor to Vetusta Monumenta and Archaeologia in the 1770s, suggest another, possibly more substantive reason why the antiquaries might have focused on this splendid and very early example of English painting. Ayloffe was one of several antiquaries who sought to establish the legitimacy of British antiquities—both the importance of artifacts themselves and the seriousness of the field of study. The long tradition of fine art painting implied by this portrait of Richard would have provided support for this cause. In a paper originally read before the Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) in 1770, Ayloffe argues that “ancient paintings” not only attest to the high artistic standards of early modern England but also provide invaluable non-verbal evidence of cultural practices in earlier periods (1775, 189). Ayloffe’s advocacy led the SAL to initiate a separate series of historical prints in the 1770s, including a monumental engraving of the work singled out by Ayloffe in this article, a c. 1545 painting of the Field of the Cloth of Gold in Windsor Castle. His account of medieval monuments in Westminster Abbey (Plates 2.29-2.35) includes some discussion of medieval painting (Ayloffe 1780). Though Ayloffe does not mention the portrait of Richard II specifically, this 1718 engraving anticipates the SAL’s later emphasis on early modern paintings as grand historical records.

The twentieth-century attempt to use this painting to found an “English school” provides an analogy that may help retrospectively to clarify the motivations behind this engraving. According to Harris, “[o]ver the course of almost three decades in the early twentieth century . . . two paintings, the Wilton Diptych and the Westminster portrait of Richard II, were successively attributed and de-attributed to Beauneveu” (2007, 182). In Harris's view, these attributions constituted “an attempt on the part of English historians to acquire in Beauneveu an author for two iconic works central to the early history of English art” or to “conscript” him “as the founder of English Painting”—despite the lack of any other surviving paintings to support the attribution (183). The antiquaries were less concerned with attribution—the caption here does not mention it—but they placed a similarly high value on the painting itself. Ayloffe's essay on the Westminster Abbey monuments provides specific evidence that the eighteenth-century antiquaries also had an English school in mind. Responding to a comment in Horace Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting (1762), Ayloffe argues that two portraits adorning the fourteenth-century monument of King Sebert, and other works in the abbey, "well supply that lacuna in the history of the progress of the art of painting in England, which our best antiquaries have deplored for many years past" (Ayloffe 1780, 14).

Preservation in the modern sense is not likely to have been a primary motive behind this plate, but in the wake of an ill-advised restoration in 1866, it turns out to have significant documentary value. As confirmed by a mid-nineteenth-century photograph, the ornamental ground of the painting was part of the original composition. In Lethaby’s words, “it was painted on a diapered gilt ground and had a crown, globe, and scepter of raised gesso work” (1934, 220). This raised design was scraped off in the 1866 restoration due to a mistaken belief that the design was added in the Tudor period.

Works Cited:

Ayloffe, Joseph. 1775. “An Historical Description of an Ancient Picture in Windsor Castle.” Archaeologia 3: 185-229.

------. 1780. “An Account of Some Ancient Monuments in Westminster Abbey.” Vetusta Monumenta 2: 1-15, following Plate 2.35.

Echard, Laurence. 1718. The History of England. Vol. 1. London: Jacob Tonson.

Harris, Jim. 2007. “(Re-)making Beauneveu: The Construction of a ‘Great Artist.’” In No Equal in Any Land: André Beauneveu, edited by Susie Nash, 178-89. London: Paul Holberton.

Lethaby, W. R. 1934. “The Westminster Portrait of Richard II.” Burlington Magazine 65: 220-22.

Saul, Nigel. 1997. Richard II. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Society of Antiquaries of London. 1718-. Minutes of the Society’s Proceedings.

“Richard II and Anne of Bohemia, Portrait.” westminster-abbey.org. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/richard-ii-and-anne-of-bohemia