John Erskine, 2nd Earl of Mar, about 1562 - 1634. Lord High Treasurer of Scotland

Mar was a friend of James VI, as a boy he was educated alongside the future King in Stirling. Mar was a prominent figure at court as tutor to James’s heir, Prince Henry, and later as Treasurer of Scotland. It seems likely, due to the delicacy and vivacity of the brushwork, that this is an autograph portrait by de Colone, painted directly from life. Mar’s eyes are beautifully painted - a particularly lively touch is the use small dabs of fluid paint, applied with a thin brush, to create the sitter’s right eyelid. The pendant Mar wears is the Lesser George, and signifies that he is a Knight of the Garter, the highest order of nobility in England.