Notes on the Art Treasures at Penicuik House Midlothian — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Notes on the Art Treasures at Penicuik House Midlothian
John Stuart Mill · en
Among the other portraits in the Dining-room may be mentioned a fine
three-quarters length of the Earl of Denbigh, by Lely; a vigorous
bust-portrait of the Duke of Norfolk, by Kneller,—the eighth Duke,
as is proved by the robe and collar of the Garter which appear in the
picture; and a copy from the well-known Janssen portrait of Drummond of
Hawthornden, in the possession of the Earl of Home: while the portraits
of Prince Charles Edward and of his wife the Princess Stolberg, known
as the Countess of Albany, though sufficiently indifferent works of
art, possess a certain interest as having been presented to Rosemary
Clerk by Miss Law of Princes Street, Edinburgh, after she had heard the
tale of the White Cockade, as recorded by Lady Clerk herself, in the
postscript to her letter to the Editor of “Blackwood’s Magazine,” which
we have already quoted.
X.
In the Corridor hangs an important and striking portrait of Lord
Godolphin, probably from the hand of William Aikman, a work doubtless
acquired by the Baron as representing an eminent English statesman with
whom he had been brought into contact about the time of the Union. The
figure is seen to below the waist, turned in three-quarters to the
right; and the face is more individual and characteristic, if less
dignified and well conditioned, than that which appears in Houbraken’s
line-engraving, or in Smith’s mezzotint after Kneller. The nose is
small and clear-cut, the mouth has a thin upper lip drawn inwards a
little, the eyebrows are straight, slight, and of a dark brown colour,
and there are strong lines on the cheeks curving downwards from the
nostrils. A long grey curling wig is worn, and a claret-coloured coat,
with a plain cravat falling in front; and a ruddy cloak is wrapped
round the waist, and passed over the left arm. His right hand rests
against his side, and his left is laid gracefully over a parapet.
In the same Corridor, hung over a door in an exceedingly bad light, is
a bust-portrait titled on the back, in an old hand, “Calderwood the
Historian by Jamesone.” The costume is a small black cap and a black
doublet with a round ruff. The face, seen in three-quarters to the
right, against a dark background, is full of intelligence; the features
small, the eyes grey, the moustache and beard of a moderate length,
yellowish-brown in colour. The flesh-tints are ruddy, inclining,
indeed, to an unduly hot tone, but the picture has evidently been much
repainted. It is undoubtedly a production of the period indicated
in the inscription, and resembles works that have been attributed
to Jamesone; but we are not acquainted with any duly authenticated
portrait of the historian of the Kirk of Scotland with which it might
be compared.