Christopher Hatton (1632–1706), 1st Viscount Hatton

Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen was a Dutch portrait painter who worked extensively in England before the Civil War, establishing himself as a significant alternative to Van Dyck for English patrons of the 1630s. This 1641 portrait of Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton, belongs to his final years in England before he left for the Dutch Republic as the Civil War disrupted his English practice. Hatton was a royalist nobleman, and his portrait records his image at a moment of political crisis.

Hatton is shown in the formal three-quarter length format characteristic of Janssens van Ceulen's English work, with careful attention to costume and the sitter's composed bearing. The handling reflects his Dutch training — precise, slightly cool in the face, competent with textiles — adapted to the expectations of English aristocratic portraiture.