Frances Stuart, Countess of Portland 1650

Wenceslaus Hollar made this print of Frances Stuart, Countess of Portland, in 1649. Prints like this one circulated widely in seventeenth-century Europe, offering standardized images of the elite for public consumption. Here, Stuart is framed by a heavy curtain, and draped in fine garments and jewelry. The formal trappings of wealth and status are meticulously rendered through etching. Hollar’s print is based on a painting by Anthony van Dyck, who became court painter to Charles I in 1632. It’s important to remember that Hollar lived through the English Civil War, which ended with the execution of Charles I. The Countess of Portland’s attire speaks to a period of aristocratic rule, and this print evokes a lost world of luxury. Though the monarchy was briefly abolished, the institution played an important role in shaping British society. Analyzing the image, we can ask how class and status were performed through art. To understand this print more fully, we can examine inventories, fashion plates, and other documents that bring the social world of seventeenth-century England to life.