Lot 219: Portrait of a lady and gentleman, possibly Charles, Lord Herbert (d. 1636) and his wife, Mary (d. 1685), half-length, by a sculptural fountain, in a landscape

Circle of Adriaen Hanneman (The Hague c. 1604-1671)
Portrait of a lady and gentleman, possibly Charles, Lord Herbert (d. 1636) and his wife, Mary (d. 1685), half-length, by a sculptural fountain, in a landscape
oil on canvas
50¼ x 90¼ in. (127.6 x 229.3 cm.)

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Drie eeuwen portret in Nederlands 1500-1800, June-October 1952, no. 54 (lent by Adelchi).

King Stanislaw August Poniatowski of Poland (1732-1798).
Count Grabowski, Swissock Castle, Russia.
Vitold Raikievicz, Warsaw and later Milan.
G.B. Gnecco, Genoa, 1940.
M. Adelchi, Milan, by 1952.

The sitters have been identified traditionally as Anna Sophia, Countess of Carnarvon (d. 1695) and her brother, Charles, Lord Herbert (d. 1636). However, the female sitter's likeness does not accord with that in Van Dyck's double portrait of Anna Sophia, Countess of Carnarvon, with her brother, Philip, Lord Herbert, later 5th Earl of Pembroke, dated circa 1635, from which this composition would appear to derive in part (Derbyshire, Chatsworth; S.J. Barnes, et al, Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven and London, 2004, p. 457, no. IV.41, illustrated). In addition, the presence of a figurine of cupid blowing his horn and a garland of roses is more suggestive of betrothal than of sibling affection. The sitters are more likely to be Charles, Lord Herbert and his wife, Mary (d. 1685), daughter of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (d. 1628). This marriage alliance, which was forged in 1626 (when Mary was just four years old), promised to bring to the Herberts a substantial annual income with which the Earl could embark on ambitious works at his country seat, Wilton, Wiltshire. The marriage, which finally took place in 1635, was short-lived however, as Lord Herbert died in Florence in January of the following year. Lady Mary Villiers was herself painted by Van Dyck on several occasions, most notably in the vast group portrait of The Pembroke Family, celebrating her entry into the family (Wiltshire, Wilton House; S.J. Barnes, op. cit., p. 572, no. IV184).

The present picture belonged to Stanislaw August Poniatowski, the last King of Poland, whose plans for a National Gallery in Warsaw led to the creation of the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, formed by his London agents Sir Francis Bourgeois and Noöl Desenfans with purchases originally destined for Stanislaw August.