Portrait of Margaret Cavendish and her family
Date
1656
Sitter
Margaret Cavendish (1623 - 1674, British) , Natural philosopher
Creator
Peeter Clouwet (1629 - 1670, Flemish) , Engraver
After
Abraham Diepenbeeck (1596 - 1675, Flemish) , Painter
Object type
Image reference
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 270mm
width (print): 165mm
width (print): 165mm
Subject
Description
Group portrait showing the Duchess and Duke of Newcastle with their family, seated together. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle can be seen at towards the right edge of the image, next to her husband William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle. The couple are shown alongside ten seated figures and two standing attendants, one adjusting a window and one standing behind the Duchess.
Margaret had no children herself, but William had five surviving children from his previous marriage to Elizabeth Howard (1599–1643). In this portrait they are joined by all five of these children and their respective spouses. The print includes a poem below used as prelude to Cavendish’s publication Nature's Pictures (1656).
Inscribed below: ‘Thus in this Semy-Circle wher they Sitt, / Telling of Tales of pleasures & of witt, / Heer you may read without a Sinn or Crime, / And how more innocently pass your tyme.’ ‘Abr, á Diepenbeke del.’ ‘Clouet sculp’ ‘The Duke and Duchess of Newcastle and their Family.’
Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1623-1673), English writer and philosopher, was the first woman to attend a meeting of the Royal Society in May 1667. She was not elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Margaret had no children herself, but William had five surviving children from his previous marriage to Elizabeth Howard (1599–1643). In this portrait they are joined by all five of these children and their respective spouses. The print includes a poem below used as prelude to Cavendish’s publication Nature's Pictures (1656).
Inscribed below: ‘Thus in this Semy-Circle wher they Sitt, / Telling of Tales of pleasures & of witt, / Heer you may read without a Sinn or Crime, / And how more innocently pass your tyme.’ ‘Abr, á Diepenbeke del.’ ‘Clouet sculp’ ‘The Duke and Duchess of Newcastle and their Family.’
Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1623-1673), English writer and philosopher, was the first woman to attend a meeting of the Royal Society in May 1667. She was not elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.