Showing her age: dating method proves portrait was painted during Mary's life

Published on Thursday 17 August 2006 02:12

DISTINGUISHING true portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots from the countless copies made after her death is a challenge for art historians. But the National Portrait Gallery in London yesterday declared a small portrait of Scotland's doomed Queen one of only two oils likely to have been painted in her lifetime.

The painting, by an unknown artist, had long been dated to the 18th century, more than 100 years after her execution.

Now, tree ring analysis of the piece of oak it is painted on shows the tree was felled between 1560 and 1592. Mary was executed in 1587, dating the work to the time of her captivity in England or shortly after her death.

A restoration of the painting, which goes on display at the London gallery today, has removed an oval of dark brown paint around Mary's face and revealed a contemporary inscription by the artist - the words "Regina Scotia", Latin for Queen of Scotland.

Dr Tarnya Cooper, curator of 19th-century paintings at the gallery, described it as "an exciting find".

It is thought the work was intended for one of Mary's supporters, as a symbol of loyalty during her imprisonment or as an icon of Catholic martyrdom after her death.

The mysterious artist could have been French, with the work initially included in a collection of European kings and queens, said Ms Cooper.

But the new dating holds out the tantalising prospect that the portrait is one of the last defiant images of Mary. "We see her here in almost the way she would like to have been seen by her admirers," said Ms Cooper.

"What you are looking at is a woman with dark brown hair and very large, dark brown eyes. Her pupils are incredibly black and it's almost as if she has been painted in candlelight.

"You see her rather beautifully dressed, with a flat cap, which may be a man's flat cap, but she is adorned with jewels and pearls.

"Even though it's an image that must have been produced during Mary's incarceration in England, it's doing a political job, showing Mary as a Catholic icon."

If the dating is correct, the 9in by 7in picture will be one of only two oil paintings of Mary made in her lifetime. While there are other miniatures and drawings of the Queen, the only other oil painting is by an unknown artist in the Royal Collection, of Mary, Queen of Scots in white mourning clothes for her husband.

One key lifetime image is a drawing by Franois Clouet, in the Bibliothque Nationale in Paris, which was the basis of the other painting of Mary, held by the Royal Collection. It was said to have been owned by Queen Elizabeth I, who ordered the execution of her cousin at Fotheringay Castle.

These early images date to her time in Paris, when she was married to Franois II, the Dauphin. It was after his death in 1560 that she returned to Scotland to claim her throne.

The period that followed saw her marriage to Lord Darnley and the birth of her only child. After his murder, and her hasty marriage to the Earl of Bothwell, she was forced to abdicate and fled to England, where she was imprisoned for the last 19 years of her life.

Other well-recognised lifetime images of Mary include two miniatures by Nicholas Hilliard, tiny portraits thought to have been painted from life at Sheffield Castle. Many of the portraits in later years were based on these images.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery has a full-length portrait of Mary on show, dressed in black with rosary beads and crucifixes. But it is dated to the early 17th century, after her death, and in the style of the Sheffield miniature. The gallery also has a watercolour of Mary's execution scene.

Portraits of Mary were far from popular during Elizabeth's reign. But it was after the succession of her son, King James I of England and VI of Scotland, that a flood of portraits emerged.

Dr Cooper said yesterday that many other galleries might be able to re-date portraits of Mary that were painted on wood. Canvas did not become popular until the 1590s.

The picture was painted on Baltic oak, which would have been shipped from northern Germany. This type of wood needed no seasoning and would probably have been used quite quickly, Dr Cooper said.

The painting style and the paints used were also right for the period.