Margaret Lemon (born c. 1614) was an English artist's model. She was the most painted female commoner of the seventeenth century, and she was the partner of

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

Life

It is known that Lemon was English, but her date of birth can only be guessed by estimating her age in paintings of her. She is believed to have had Flemish ancestry and she was probably a

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...

when she met

after he came to work, again, in England in 1632. She was a musician who could play the

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

. Her life story is recreated based on gossip rather than records. She is known to have been in London from 1629. Although she was extravagant with money she was given the responsibility of looking after her partner's houses in Blackfriars and at his suite of rooms at

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930s. ...

. Van Dyck entertained his rich patrons at his houses including

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

. It is not recorded that she and the King met although Charles later bought a portrait of her. She was the model for Van Dyck's painting based on the classical idea of the " Modest Venus". The painting is in the British Royal Collection and it shows Lemon trying to, modestly, cover her breasts. Lemon was said to have had

Endymion Porter Sir Endymion Porter (1587–1649) was an English diplomat and royalist. Early life He was descended from Sir William Porter, sergeant-at-arms to Henry VII, and son of Edmund Porter, of Aston-sub-Edge in Gloucestershire, by his cousin Angela, ...

as a guest while Van Dyck was away, but she expected Van Dyck to be faithful.

Wenceslaus Hollar Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is known to German speakers as ; and to Czech speakers as . He is particu ...

said that she tried to put Van Dyck's career in jeopardy when she attempted to bite off his

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

in a fit of jealousy. Portrait of Margaret Lemon c

Lemon's relationship with Van Dyck ended and he married Mary Ruthven, who was considered more respectable, in February 1640. His new wife came from a Scottish aristocratic family and she was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

to Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

. Van Dyck died two years later, but Lemon continued as a model attracting attention from younger ambitious painters including

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. Life Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...

Samuel Cooper Samuel or Sam Cooper may refer to: *Samuel Cooper (painter) (1609–1672), English miniature painter *Samuel Cooper (clergyman) (1725–1783), Congregationalist minister in Boston, Massachusetts * Samuel Cooper (surgeon) (1780–1848), English surge ...

, Cornelis Jansen van Ceulen and

Adriaen Hanneman Adriaen is a Dutch form of Adrian. Notable people with the name include: *Adriaen Banckert (1615–1684), Dutch admiral *Adriaen Block (1567–1627), Dutch private trader and navigator *Adriaen Brouwer (1605–1638), Flemish genre painter *Adriaen ...

Legacy

There is a portrait of her in the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the 945 Madison Avenue#2021–present: Frick Madison, Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and Europe ...

which was made in about 1638 by Van Dyck and which was lost for some years. There is another in the Royal Collection which is kept at

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

. In 2022 there were eight portraits of her in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

which were "after Anthony van Dyck". Peter Lely's painting of her, in "The Concert", is in the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

. Contemporary copies and engravings of Van Dyck's painting of her as Flora exist although the original is lost. The historian

Susan E. James Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

says that she was the most painted female commoner of the seventeenth century.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemon, Margaret 1610s births Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown English courtesans Artists' models English women