John Riley - Bridget Holmes (1591-1691) - Google Art Project

John Riley, or Ryley, (1646 – March 1691) was an English portrait painter. He painted portraits of Charles II and James II, and was

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

to William III and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

. One of his pupils was

Jonathan Richardson Jonathan Richardson (12 January 1667 – 28 May 1745), sometimes called "the Elder" to distinguish him from his son (Jonathan Richardson the Younger), was an English artist, collector of drawings and writer on art, working almost entirely as a ...

Life and work

Riley was born in London, one of the sons of

William Ryley William Ryley (died 1667) was an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He began his career as a clerk at the record office in the Tower of London under Sir John Borough, Garter king of arms. He entered the College of Arms as Rouge Ro ...

Lancaster Herald Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The title of Lancaster Herald first occurs in 1347 at Calais, and to begin with this officer was a servant to the noble house of Lancaster. As ...

and keeper of the records in the Tower of London, who was created Norroy king-at-arms under the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, but reverted to his herald's office at the Restoration. Another son, Thomas Riley, was an actor. Riley studied painting under

Isaac Fuller Isaac Fuller (1606(?) – 1672) was an English painter. Trained in France, he worked in Oxford and London. His works included portraits, religious subjects and decorative paintings. Early life and education Fuller is often said to have been bor ...

and

Gerard Soest Gerard Soest (circa 1600 – 11 February 1681), also known as Gerald Soest, was a portrait painter who was active in England during the late 17th century. He is most famous for his portraits of William Shakespeare and Samuel Butler, but painted ma ...

, and from the latter learnt a forcible, straightforward style of portraiture which rendered his portraits noteworthy. Riley did not attain much eminence until the death of Sir

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 ...

, when courtier and royal official

Thomas Chiffinch Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

sat for him, and was so much pleased with his portrait that he showed it to the king. Charles II gave Riley some commissions, and eventually himself sat for him, apparently saying of the result: "Is this like me? Oddsfish, then I'm an ugly fellow!" Riley also painted James II and

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...

, and, on the accession of William III and

, he was appointed

Principal Painter in Ordinary The title of Principal Painter in Ordinary to the King or Queen of England or, later, Great Britain, was awarded to a number of artists, nearly all mainly portraitists. It was different from the role of Serjeant Painter, and similar to the earlie ...

, jointly with Sir

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

, though he only survived for three years after this. Riley was said to be a quiet, modest man, very diffident of his own art, but his portraits are truthful and lifelike. With more self-confidence he might have attained to the position of Lely or Kneller. His most successful works are often said to be three unusual portraits of servants. He painted a grand full-length of

Bridget Holmes Bridget Holmes (1591–1691) was a domestic servant at the English royal court in the 17th century. Holmes was a necessary woman whose duties included emptying and scouring chamber pots and cleaning the royal apartments. She served during th ...

dated 1686 in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

. She was a "necessary woman" at court whose duties included emptying and scouring

chamber pot A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. Names and etymology "Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...

s and cleaning the royal apartments. She served during the reigns of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, Charles II, James II, and William III and

. Two other, smaller, portraits of servants are ''Katherine Elliot'' (also Royal Collection) and ''A Scullion'' in the

Christ Church Picture Gallery Christ Church Picture Gallery is an art gallery located inside Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The gallery holds an important collection of about 300 Old Master paintings and nearly 2,000 drawings. The ...

, Oxford.Lloyd, 112 He was assisted in painting (at least) his draperies and accessories by

John Closterman John Closterman (also spelt Cloosterman, Klosterman; 1660 – 24 May 1711 (buried)) was a Westphalian portrait painter of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His subjects were mostly European noblemen and their families. Career Born in Osna ...

, who finished several of Riley's pictures after his death. Riley, who suffered very much from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

, died in March 1691, and was buried in the church of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate. The registers of this church contain various entries relating to his family, including the burial, on 11 January 1692–3, of his wife Jochebed. Among Riley's pupils was

(1667–1745), who married a niece of Riley, and, being himself the master of Thomas Hudson (who was in his turn the master of Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

), transmitted a truly national strain in the art of

portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

Notes

References

* Lloyd, Christopher, ''The Queen's Pictures, Royal Collectors through the centuries'', National Gallery Publications, 1991, *

External links

*
John Riley online
(ArtCyclopedia)
Portraits by John Riley
(National Portrait Gallery, London)

(

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

– 25 Jan 2008)
Portrait of King Charles II
(

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

)
Portrait of William Chiffinch
(onlinegalleries.com) ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, John 1646 births 1691 deaths 17th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters Court painters British portrait painters