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SIR GODFREY KNELLER (1646 - 1723)
Portrait of Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles, half length
Oil on canvas, 82.5 x 65.4cm
In fine period frame
Provenance: By descent in the Boyle...
SIR GODFREY KNELLER (1646 - 1723)
Portrait of Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles, half length
Oil on canvas, 82.5 x 65.4cm
In fine period frame
Provenance: By descent in the Boyle Family; Sale Christie's New York May 25th 2005, Lot 218, where sold $36,000
This work by Kneller is a rare and unusual portrait for its period. While of course bearing allusions to the Madonna and Child and in particular the iconography of Nursing Madonna or Madonna Lactans, the artist has taken an interesting approach of depicting a young mother breastfeeding her infant son. The mother in question is the Lady Mary Boyle, wife of the Hon. Lt. Col Henry Boyle of Castlemartyr in Cork and daughter of the 1st Earl of Inchiquin. As woman in the upper echelons of society in the 17th century it would have been highly unlikely that she did in fact breast feed her own children. As was the common practice amongst the gentry, a wet nurse would have carried out the task for her. Depictions of breast feeding in earlier periods often presented the women in more ordinary clothes linking them to the symbol of the Madonna of Humility.
In the 17th and 18th centuries paintings of breast-feeding women abound, suggesting that as a society it was considered a natural and important role of motherhood. The subject matter often derives from ancient texts or contemporary times including both a daughter breastfeeding her father in the Roman Charity story of Pero and Cimon to Jusepe de Riberas infamous painting of Magdalena Ventura or The Bearded Woman nursing her child.
Yet they are rarely seen portraying women of this social class. Kneller has depicted Lady Mary with dignity, staring directly at the viewer, in her vibrant red gown and white lace headdress falling gracefully across her shoulders. It represents the idea of motherhood as the true calling for women and a celebration of that role. Of course, we do not know for certain if Lady Mary did enlist the services of wet nurses for her children but the painting may be a reflection of changing attitudes in society that encouraged this view of the exemplary mother figure providing nourishment to her child. We should not view this as moment of exposure for Lady Mary but rather as an expression of her love and devotion for her children. The child in the painting is her third son Charles, portrayed as healthy and sturdy baby, which at time of extremely high infant mortality, was cause, in and of itself, for much celebration. He did indeed survive to adulthood and went on to pursue a career in the Navy.
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