The Careers of Lely and Wright Contrasted in the Shadow of van Dyck

Maxwell Anthony MacDermot Conry
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2008
BA

Subject: Painting
Country: England
Period: 17th Century

10,000 words

This dissertation focuses on art in England in the 17th century. The circumstances of the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 effectively turned the clock back to the era of his father’s court, thereby allowing a consideration of early 17th century artists at the court of Charles II. Having noted the changes wrought by Sir Anthony van Dyck to English portraiture, initially at the court of James I and subsequently at that of Charles I, and having considered the consequences of the years of civil war and the Inter-regnum on English art, the dissertation charts van Dyck’s continuing influence in the Restoration period. The question is asked whether that influence was so strong as to overshadow artists such as Sir Peter Lely and John Michael Wright at the court of Charles II, thereby explaining their current unfashionable status.

Irish Georgian Society

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The Careers of Lely and Wright Contrasted in the Shadow of van Dyck