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Portrait of King Charles II of England
Philippe de Champaigne1653
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Charles II (1630–1685) fled England in 1651 during the English civil war and commissioned this portrait during his exile in France. Charles II never fought on the battlefield, but he was the last British monarch to wear a full suit of armor, which represented his rank and status. The king gestures to the sea beyond the Dover cliffs, and the waiting fleet reveals his intention to return to England, which he did in 1660.
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Details
- Title: Portrait of King Charles II of England
- Creator: Philippe de Champaigne (French, 1602–1674)
- Date Created: 1653
- Physical Dimensions: Framed: 182 x 141 x 15 cm (71 5/8 x 55 1/2 x 5 7/8 in.); Unframed: 129.5 x 97.2 cm (51 x 38 1/4 in.)
- Provenance: Jules Feral (sale: Paris, Hotel Drouot, May 30, 1903, as portrait of James II by Lely); [E. Gimpel and Wildenstein, New York]; Stanley Mortimer, New York (sale: Parke-Bernet, December 2, 1944, no. 85, illus. p. 57); [Duveen Brothers, Inc., New York]. The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Fund, 1959.
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1959.38
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Inscriptions: Inscribed lower center: "A°.1653"
- Fun Fact: Charles is wearing a typical French cuirassier's armor. Meant for cavalry, the style indicates it was made around 1630 and was likely a gift as Charles would have been an infant at the time it was created.
- Department: European Painting and Sculpture
- Culture: France, 17th century
- Credit Line: The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection
- Collection: P - French 17th Century
- Accession Number: 1959.38
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