Portrait of Anthony Maria Browne, 2nd Viscount Montagu

Robert Peake the Elder, ca. 1551–1619, British, Portrait of Anthony Maria Browne, 2nd Viscount Montagu, ca. 1590

Creator:: Robert Peake the Elder, ca. 1551–1619
Title:: Portrait of Anthony Maria Browne, 2nd Viscount Montagu
Date:: ca. 1590
Medium:: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:: 74 × 42 inches (188 × 106.7 cm), Frame: 80 5/16 × 49 3/16 × 3 3/4 inches (204 × 125 × 9.5 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:: Inscribed in yellow paint in cartouche, upper right: "Rien m'estone"
Credit Line:: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Copyright Status:: Public Domain
Accession Number:: B2021.15
Classification:: Paintings
Collection:: Paintings and Sculpture
Subject Terms:: portrait
Associated People:: Browne, Anthony Maria, second Viscount Montagu (1574–1629)
Access:: Not on view
Note: To make an appointment to see this work, please contact the Paintings and Sculpture department at ycba.paintings@yale.edu. Please visit the Paintings and Sculpture collections page on our website for more details.
Link:: https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:83329
Export:: XML
IIIF Manifest:: JSON

The French inscription 'Rien m’estone' translates to: Nothing astonishes me, or perhaps in this context: What more can I do? Using symbolic imagery, this portrait makes an impassioned claim for Anthony Maria Browne’s loyalty to his monarch, Elizabeth I. With her own subjects plotting against her Protestant regime, the queen also faced threats from Catholics abroad: in 1588, the King of Spain launched an armada carrying an invasion force to England. Consequently, English Catholics such as Browne were treated with deep suspicion. With his arms folded and legs crossed in melancholic fashion, he leans against an oak tree — a symbol of the strength of England. The frogs and snakes below symbolize those who slandered his reputation. In the distance, storms and shipwrecks recall the defeat of the Spanish Armada, providing a reminder that at her darkest hour, Browne’s family had ridden to Elizabeth I’s side.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2022

Christie's sale catalogue : Anonymous Sale : 11 June 1999, Christie's, Christie's, June 11, 1999, lot 5, Not at Yale

Christie’s sale catalogue : Jasper Conran: The Collection Part I : 14 September 2021, Christie's, London, lot 119, https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6331942?ldp_breadcrumb=back&intObjectID=6331942&from=salessummary&lid=1 [Website]

Conran Collection, Smith Greenfield, 10 Sep 2021, https://smithgreenfield.co.uk/conran-collection/ [Website]

Annunciata Elwes, Going, going, gone, Country Life, September 1, 2021, p. 45, S3 .C68 Oversize (YCBA) [YCBA]

R. Guilding, Jasper Wares, World of interiors, Apr 2021, p. 154, Not at Yale

Susan Moore, Art Market Preview, Apollo, v. 194, London, September 1, 2021, p. 69, Art & Architecture Source [ORBIS]

Susan Moore, Art Market Review, Apollo, v. 194, London, Nov. 2021, p. 72, N1 A54 Oversize (YCBA) [YCBA]

J. Sherwood, Baby Grand, World of Interiors, Mar 2002, p. 135, Not at Yale.

Roy C. Strong, The Elizabethan image : an introduction to English portraiture, 1558-1603, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp. 140-143, , pl. 139, 140, ND1314.2 .S87 2019 (YCBA) [YCBA]

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