Jul 7, 2019
▪︎Frances Stuart, Duchess of Richmond.
Date: mid 1660's
Artist: Jacob Huysmans (Flemish, ca. 1630-1696)
Medium: Oil on canvas
~ Jacob Huysmans painted prominent members of the English court under Charles II and Queen Catherine of Braganza, among them Frances Stuart. Celebrated for her beauty, Stuart served as the model for Britannia, the female personification of Great Britain, in coinage and statues.
Huysmans depicts Stuart here as Athena, the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of intellect, reason, and military victory. She sports the Greek goddess’s attributes: a spear and armor, including a helmet and shield adorned with the serpent-haired head of Medusa.