Bartholomew Beale

The eldest son of Mary Beale - one of the earliest acknowledged female painters in Britain - is shown here resting upon a bust of the ancient Greek poet, Homer. Homer had long been considered the embodiment of artistic integrity, and given the assumption that Bartholomew would follow in his mother's footsteps, this seems an appropriate allusion. Bartholomew, however, chose a different path, enrolling with Clare College, Cambridge, in 1680, to study medicine. In 1687, he settled in Coventry to practise as a physician until his untimely death in 1689.