Beatice, Countess of Oxford, Portrait of Beatrice, the Countess of Oxford, sitting and looking directly at the viewer. She wears an elegant dress decorated with pearls and other jewels. She wears a string of pearls around her neck and pearl earrings. She sits in three-quarter view holding a wilted rose in her hand. This is possibly symbolic of death, which would lead us to conclude that this is the portrait of a widow. A blue sky, rock, and foliage are evident in the background., 1638

Item — Box: 263

Identifier: spc-mss0088-s36-i0816

Beatice, Countess of Oxford, Portrait of Beatrice, the Countess of Oxford, sitting and looking directly at the viewer. She wears an elegant dress decorated with pearls and other jewels. She wears a string of pearls around her neck and pearl earrings. She sits in three-quarter view holding a wilted rose in her hand. This is possibly symbolic of death, which would lead us to conclude that this is the portrait of a widow. A blue sky, rock, and foliage are evident in the background.

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Scope and Contents

Vanderbilt photo identifier: SC.MSS.088.FLEM.0785; Public Notes: The accession number is PO1481. In the past, the sitter has been misidentified as Diana, the daughter of the 2nd Earl of Exeter. The inscription disproves this claim, identifying her as the Countess of Oxford, the wife of Robert de Vere, the 19th Earl of Oxford, who was killed in battle in 1632. Copies exist at Syon House and Sotheby's.

Dates

Creation: 1638

Creator

Anthony Van Dyck (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection may be viewed only in the reading room of Special Collections in the Jean and Alexander Heard Library. Collections should be requested 2-3 days prior to visiting in order to facilitate easier access. For questions or to request a collection, contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu.

Biographical / Historical

Subjects: Pearls; Portraits; Landscape; Roses; Jewelry; School: Flemish; Style period: Baroque; Technique: painting (technique); Work type: paintings

Full Extent

1 Items : Image Work Type: photographic print ; Image height (in.): 9.9; Image width (in.): 7.6in.

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Physical Description

Medium: oil paint; Physical condition: mounted; curling; yellowing; Print type: toned black and white; Support: canvas

General

Artist Status: confirmed; Inscription author: artist; Inscription original text: THE COUNTESS OF OXFORD/ A. Van Dyck/ 1638; Inscription original text language: English; Inscription original text type: text; Inscription position: Bottom left corner; Inscription translation text type: