The Sobieskis and Stuarts. Portraits of James III/VIII and Clementina, Antonio David, 1730

after Martin van Meytens (1725)
oil on canvas, 1730
private collection

These are the most representative portraits of James III/VIII and Clementina. The lost originals by Martin van Meytens (1695–1770) were painted in 1725, on the occasion of the birth of the couple’s second son, Henry Benedict. It is known that both portraits were repeatedly copied, including in 1727–1728 by a minor English artist residing in Rome at the time, named E. Gill, and in 1730 by the highly talented Italian painter Antonio David (1698–1737). David made several copies of these portraits, of which the two included in this exhibition are the only ones known to have survived.

Antonio David painted many portraits of the Stuart family, including two fine ones of both Prince Charles Edward and Prince Henry Benedict which are in the collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. He also painted a large canvas showing Prince Charles’ baptism in the chapel royal of the Palazzo del Re. Some of his portraits of the queen and the princes were also engraved.

James III/VIII is presented in armour covered with an ermine-lined cloak. On his chest are the orders of the Garter (English) commemorating Saint George, and of the Thistle (Scottish; the thistle being the national symbol) commemorating Saint Andrew. Both are those two countries’ highest orders of chivalry.

David painted his copy of the portrait of Clementina in 1730. However, from 1725 onwards her health and mental condition had deteriorated as a result of a prolonged conflict with her husband and his principal courtiers. The artist had been court painter to James III/VIII since 1717 and known Clementina since her arrival in Rome in 1719. In this copy of 1730 he restored the queen to her former beauty.