Anne (Killigrew) Kirke

Maker Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599 - 1641, active in England)

SitterSitter: Anne (Killigrew) Kirke (British, died 1641)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca.1637

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions87 1/2 x 51 3/8 in. (222.3 x 130.5 cm.) frame: 96 3/4 × 63 1/2 × 2 3/4 in. (245.7 × 161.3 × 7 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds from the Adele S. Browning Memorial Art Fund

Label TextThis portrait of Anne Kirke was likely painted to commemorate her appointment in 1637 as Dresser to Queen Henrietta Maria. Kirke’s husband held the corresponding appointment of Gentleman of the Robes to King Charles I. Their positions were among the most coveted at the English court, requiring sophisticated knowledge of protocol and fashion.

Anne Kirke is shown in a golden-brown silk dress, decorated with a swath of brown gauze across the torso. Iridescent pearls reflect the burnished highlights of the silk. Van Dyck, who was frequently patronized by the Kirke family in the 1630s, meticulously recorded the puckered seams and creased folds of the gown, adding tremendous vitality to the large expanse of fabric. With a pointed index finger, the sitter directs our attention to a leaping dog, a butterfly, and a flowering rosebush. These symbols of fidelity, willingness to serve, and pain endured for pleasure refer to the sitter’s virtues, perhaps the mature flowering of love in her marriage and her patience in her role at court.

Status

On view

Object number83.4