Three-quarters length, in armour; face turned three-quarters to the
left. His left hand is on his hip, his right on a table by his
side, on which is a plumed helmet. A battle scene is shown in the
lower right background. On canvas, 3 ft. high, by 2 ft. 4 in. wide.
Lent by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.
This portrait would seem to represent him as a comparatively young
man--about twenty-three--after he had distinguished himself at
Maestricht, when he was nicknamed by Turenne "the handsome
Englishman." It was the period of his famous _liaison_ with the
Duchess of Cleveland, who had fallen a willing victim to his beauty
and his charm of manner. Lord Wolseley, in his "Life of
Marlborough," describes his appearance at this period as:
"Strikingly handsome, with a profusion of fair hair,
strongly-marked, well-shaped eyebrows, long eyelashes, blue eyes,
and refined, clearly-cut features. A wart on his right upper-lip
though large, did not detract from his good looks. He was tall, and
his figure was remarkably graceful, although a contemporary says:
'Il avait l'air trop indolent, et la taille trop effilé.'"
=Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.=
Except for the oak panelling, which covered the walls of this room as
late as the beginning of this century, but which was removed now many
years ago, we see it exactly as it was finished for Queen Mary. Her
initial, with that of her husband, King William, appears in the fine
carved oak cornice. The ceiling is coved.
At one time this room was called "The Admiral's Gallery," on account of
the series of copies of portraits of British Admirals by Kneller and
Dahl, which formerly hung here--until their removal in 1835 to Hampton
Court, whence they have now been brought back to decorate again the
walls of these state rooms at Kensington. They are now hung, as we shall
see, in "The King's Gallery."
The dimensions of this room are: 25 feet long by 17 feet 10 inches wide,
by 12 feet 7 inches high to the top of the cornice, 15 feet 8 inches to
the highest part of the ceiling.
Pictures in Queen Mary's Privy Chamber.