Portrait of George Delves and a Female Companion

During Elizabeth I’s reign, Sir George Delves (died 1604) held court office and had a military career in Ireland. His first wife had died by 1583, when he remarried. It is possible that she is portrayed here, sombrely dressed, her face hidden by a branch of myrtle (symbolising everlasting love), as a memento of her death. His unrewarded hopes of fame are suggested by the laurel (bay) tree to the right and by the inscriptions painted on the picture. At the top in Italian he proclaims that: “I value only love and fame”. The discarded armour and broken lance show that he has renounced military and court life for, as the last line of the English inscription states, they brought him “but woe and pain”. The turreted house and intricate gardens and maze in the background have not been identified. They probably do not represent those at Doddington Hall, the Delves’ family estate in Cheshire, but may be an imaginary garden of love.