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1 of 253523 objects
After Peter Cross (c. 1645-1724)
Nell Gwyn as Venus c.1678-9
Mezzotint | 20.6 x 14.8 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 655579
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This mezzotint ostensibly depicts Venus holding one of Cupid's arrows: the figure is adapted (in reverse) from Correggio's School of Love (National Gallery, London), which had been in the collection of Charles I and was sold during the Commonwealth. While there is no direct reference to Nell Gwynn here, clues are provided in the verse inscribed below: she is described as the 'Soveraigns Joy', and her identity as Nell rather than another mistress is provided by the similarity between the names Eleanor (or Ellen as she was often named) and Helen of Troy.
Despite the strong public interest in images of Charles II's mistresses during his reign, only a handful of impressions of this mezzotint have survived, including one in an album of prints compiled by Samuel Pepys.
Text adapted from Charles II: Art & Power, London, 2017Provenance
Purchased by George IV when Prince of Wales in 1807 for 15s (RA GEO/MAIN/27427) 'Nel Gwynn has [sic] Psyche Scarce'
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Creator(s)
(publisher)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Mezzotint
Measurements
20.6 x 14.8 cm (sheet of paper)
20.1 x 14.3 cm (platemark)
Category
Object type(s)
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Alternative title(s)
Had Paris seen her, hee had chang'd his suit / And for this Hellen giv'n the golden fruit / The Subjects wishes and the Soveraigns Joy / Who burns with better Flames our second Troy / Witt, beauty, goodness, and good humour too / Are more then any Venus else can shew
Eleanor Gywnn as 'Venus'.
