Elizabeth Throckmorton, Canoness of the Order of the Dames Augustines Anglaises
Historical Context
Largilliere's portrait of Elizabeth Throckmorton, a Canoness of the Order of the Dames Augustines Anglaises, painted in 1729, depicts a member of the English Catholic gentry who lived in exile in the Spanish Netherlands. The Throckmortons were a prominent recusant family, and Elizabeth's membership in a continental religious order reflects the difficult position of English Catholics after the Reformation. Largilliere's portrait documents a subject who inhabits both English and Continental Catholic culture.
Technical Analysis
Largilliere's oil-on-canvas technique renders the canoness with warm, sympathetic color and the polished finish of French Baroque portraiture. The religious habit is painted with careful attention to the specific costume of the order, while the face demonstrates Largilliere's gift for sympathetic characterization.
Provenance
Commissioned by the brother of the sitter, Sir Robert Throckmorton, 4th Baronet [1702-1791], and placed in the parlor of Weston Underwood, Buckinghamshire (transferred to the Throckmorton manor house of Coughton Court in Warwickshire by 1855); by inheritance in succession to Robert Throckmorton's three grandsons,[1] Sir John Courtenay Throckmorton, 5th Baronet [1753-1819], Sir George Throckmorton, 6th Baronet [1754-1826], and Sir Charles Throckmorton, 7th Baronet [1757-1840], all of Coughton Court; by inheritance to their nephew, Sir Robert George Throckmorton, 8th Baronet [1800-1862],[2] Coughton Court; by inheritance in succession to his sons, Sir Nicholas William George Throckmorton, 9th Baronet [1838-1919] and Sir Richard Charles Acton Throckmorton, 10th Baronet [1819-1927], both of Coughton Court; by inheritance to his grandson, Sir Robert George Maxwell Throckmorton, 11th Baronet [1908-1989],[3] Coughton Court; (sale by order of "The Trustees of the Will of the Late Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, Bart.," Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 26 June 1964, no. 68); (Thos. Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London);[4] sold 29 October 1964 to NGA. [1] Sons of Sir Robert Throckmorton's older son George (c. 1728-1767) and his wife, Anna Maria Paston. [2] Son of William Throckmorton (1762-1819) and Frances Giffard. [3] Son of Lieutenant-Colonel Courtenay Brabazon Throckmorton (1866-1916) and Lilian Langford-Brooke (d. 1955). [4] Stockbook no. J 4530.
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