HE WAS a favourite of Queen
Elizabeth I and was immortalised
in Shakespeare's sonnets,
having invited the great
bard to his Hampshire home.
The third - and by far the most important
Earl of Southampton - was highly
regarded in the Royal court and was the
inspiration to many Tudor poets seeking
his patronage.
One of the early industrialists, he built
the Titchfield and Beaulieu ironworks
and introduced Southampton to the
world, with American cities and an
Canadian Island named after him.
Now, more than 400 years after his
death, Shakespeare's patron Henry
Wriothesley is courting the attention of
art historians.
Click here to see our heritage section.
Students researching a display of
Tudor portraits have uncovered a
"ghost" figure which the National
Portrait Gallery believes could be the
third Earl of Southampton.
It was painted over with an image of
his wife Elizabeth Vernon, who was maid
of honour to Queen Elizabeth I.
advertisement
The secret portrait was found when it
was X-rayed by students from Bristol
University.
The male figure closely resembles the
composition of portraits of Southampton
made around the same time, some of
which are attributed to the Dutch artist
van Somer.
A spokesman for the National Portrait
Gallery said: "It is thought that the
unknown artist of this portrait painted
over the image, possibly because a commission
for a double portrait of husband
and wife was abandoned in favour of the
single portrait seen today."
Ken Groves, of the Titchfield Historical
Society, said: "The third Earl of
Southampton was by far the most important
of all four earls.
"Obviously there is something underneath
the existing portrait and it would
be most likely to be the third earl. In
those days portraits were not worth
much, so they would just paint over old
ones."
The auburn-haired earl was a great
friend of Shakespeare and it is believed
that during a visit to Southampton's
home, Palace House at Titchfield Abbey,
he wrote sonnets eulogising the young
and attractive Earl.
Although a favourite of the queen for
many years, Henry was lucky to escape
execution for his part in Essex's plot of
1601 to capture the Queen and take over
the court.
He was imprisoned in the Tower until
1603. It was then that he turned from "man
about town" to industrialist, building the
Titchfield and Beaulieu iron works.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
