Jane Small
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Jane Small (''c.'' 1518–1602) was a daughter of Christopher Pemberton, a Northamptonshire gentleman. She is well known as the subject of a
portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
by the famous 16th-century German artist
Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere;  – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...
, painted about 1540. Holbein was known as a painter of the English court where his paintings included those of King Henry VIII and several of his wives.


Life

Jane Pemberton married Nicholas Small, a London cloth merchant, probably in about 1540.Foister, p. 49. It is around this time that the Holbein portrait was commissioned. Nicholas Small died in the winter of 1565/66, and Jane remarried within the year, to Nicholas Parkinson. Her new husband went on to be Master of the Clothworkers' Company in 1578/79. Parkinson died in the winter of 1581/82. At this time Jane was living in
Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...
, in the rectory, a house big enough to have been let to Sir John Popham, the attorney general, in the 1580s. Jane also held a lease on 'The Hand', a property on Thames Street, alongside the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In later life she lived with her daughters, and preferred to be addressed as Jane Small. She died in May 1602 whilst staying with her granddaughter in Warwickshire, but her burial place is unknown.


Family

Jane Small had six children by Nicholas Small. After her second husband died intestate, her eldest son, Matthew Small, inherited, but only after a court hearing before the
Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...
. A younger daughter, Elizabeth, married Jasper More of Shropshire. Jane's granddaughter,
Katherine More Samuel More (1593–1662) was an English man who was at the centre of two historical incidents in 17th-century England. In the first, he arranged for the removal of his children to the New World aboard the ''Mayflower''; later, during the English ...
, was at the centre of a bizarre incident that occurred between her and her husband
Samuel More Samuel More (1593–1662) was an English man who was at the centre of two historical incidents in 17th-century England. In the first, he arranged for the removal of his children to the New World aboard the ''Mayflower''; later, during the English ...
from about 1616 to 1620. During this time her husband accused Katherine of having engaged in adultery with a longtime lover and giving birth to four children by him. Numerous court cases culminated in 1620 with Samuel More placing the four children with Pilgrims on the
Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
just prior to its sailing for
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Soon after the Mayflower's arrival in America, three of the four children died. Only Katherine's son
Richard More Richard Edwardes More (3 January 1879 – 24 November 1936) was an English cricketer. A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, he played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Middlesex, amongst others, and later playe ...
survived.


Holbein portrait

Jane Small's historical significance derives from a fine portrait miniature by
Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere;  – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...
. She has been identified as the subject from the
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
painted on a separate piece of
vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...
at the back of the miniature, that of Robert Pemberton of Lancashire and of
Rushden Rushden is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, around east of Northampton. The parish is on the border with Bedfordshire, north of Bedford. The parish of Rushden covers an area of some ...
, Northamptonshire, who died in 1594. The arms are dated 1566 but were painted in the 17th century. Scholars at first supposed that the sitter was Margaret Throckmorton (d. 1576), Robert Pemberton's wife, who had connections with the royal court. More recently, Jane Small has been established as the sitter. The simplicity of the sitter's dress reflects her relatively modest status; most of the Englishwomen Holbein painted were attached to the court. The inscription records the sitter as in her 23rd year, but the date of the painting is not known for certain. It has been suggested that the portrait may have been commissioned to mark her engagement.Foister, p. 49. She is shown wearing a carnation, which may symbolise her betrothal, and holding a leaf or sprig. Holbein's portrait, with its rich blue background, crisp outlines, and absence of shading, follows the conventions of the genre. Such miniatures were worn like a jewel. In his last years, Holbein raised the art of the
portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
to its first peak of brilliance. His large pictures had always contained a miniature-like precision. He applied this skill to the smaller form, somehow retaining his monumentality of effect.Rowlands, pp. 88–90. His miniature portrait of Jane Small is considered a masterpiece of the genre. In the view of art historian Graham Reynolds:
olbeinportrays a young woman whose plainness is scarcely relieved by her simple costume of black-and-white materials, and yet there can be no doubt that this is one of the great portraits of the world. With remarkable objectivity Holbein has not added anything of himself or subtracted from his sitter's image; he has seen her as she appeared in a solemn mood in the cold light of his painting-room.Reynolds, p. 7.


See also

*
List of paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger (''c''. 1497–1543) was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century.Zwingenberger, 9. He also made a significan ...
*
Katherine More Samuel More (1593–1662) was an English man who was at the centre of two historical incidents in 17th-century England. In the first, he arranged for the removal of his children to the New World aboard the ''Mayflower''; later, during the English ...
, Jane Small's granddaughter


References


Bibliography

* *Foister, Susan. ''Holbein in England''. London: Tate, 2006. . *Jackson, Anna (ed.). ''V&A: A Hundred Highlights.'' London: V&A Publications, 2001, . *Reynolds, Graham. ''English Portrait Miniatures''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. . *Rowlands, John. ''Holbein: The Paintings of Hans Holbein the Younger.'' Boston: David R. Godine, 1985. . * Strong, Roy. ''Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered, 1520–1620''. London: Thames & Hudson/Victoria & Albert Museum, 1983. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Jane Paintings in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum Small, Jane Pemberton 1510s births 1602 deaths 16th-century English women