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Creator:
Willem Wissing, ca. 1656–1687
and background by Jan Wyck, ca. 1645–1700
Title:
A Military Commander, Possibly Percy Kirke [2024, YCBA]
Former Title(s):

An Unknown Man, Probably the ninth Earl of Derby

An Unknown Man, Probably the 9th Earl of Derby
Date:
1684
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
49 3/4 x 40 3/8 inches (126.4 x 102.6 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Signed, lower left: "W. Wissing fecit. C24"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1979.18
Classification:
Paintings
Collection:
Paintings and Sculpture
Link to Frame:
B1979.18FR
Subject Terms:
battle | costume | flags | fortifications | helmet | horses (animals) | men | nobleman | portrait | smoke
Associated Places:
Morocco | Tangier
Associated People:
Kirke, Percy (d. 1691), army officer, son of George Kirke (d. 1675)
Access:
Not on view
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:497
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It may not be a coincidence that a generation before this painting of William Stanley, ninth Earl of Derby, was completed, his family's castle was destroyed in a scene that likely looked similar to the one in the portrait’s background. Greenhalgh castle, constructed in 1490 by the first Earl of Derby, surrendered after a two-year-long siege (1644–45) launched by Oliver Cromwell’s forces during the English Civil War and was promptly slighted (partially destroyed) to ensure that it would never again be used for military purposes. In his portrait, Stanley grips a baton of command, signaling that his family's loss did little to diminish his authority.

Gallery label for Art in Focus: The British Castle - A Symbol in Stone (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-04-07 - 2017-08-06)

Art in Focus : The British Castle - A Symbol in Stone (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-04-07 - 2017-08-06) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

Art in Focus : William III (Yale Center for British Art, 2011-04-08 - 2011-07-31) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

Malcolm Cormack, Concise Catalogue of Paintings in the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1985, pp. 256-257, N590.2 .A83 (YCBA) [YCBA]

The British Castle : A Symbol in Stone, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 2017, p. 17, cat. 12, V2722 (YCBA) [YCBA]

William III, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2011, p. 22, V2340 [ORBIS]


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