IN THE SPOTLIGHT
A rare portrait returns to Strawberry Hill
A rare portrait of Catherine de’ Medici by French court painter François Clouet has been acquired by Strawberry Hill House & Garden, 247 years a!er it "rst hung here. The painting of Catherine and her children was bought by Horace Walpole in 1774 and is signi"cant not only because she was one of the most powerful women in 16th-century Europe (she was queen consort to King Henry II of France), but also because this is the only surviving portrait of her and four of her 10 children, painted while she was alive. In the painting Catherine symbolically presents her son Charles IX (crowned king at the age of 10) while keeping him close, re#ecting the power she wielded. It is one of several works sold at auction in 1842.
It is unknown how such an important painting made its way onto the wall of Strawberry Hill House, although Walpole had a keen interest in the Medici family and enjoyed an extensive Grand Tour. But the painting has now been returned thanks to the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, administered by the Arts Council. ‘The acquisition of this unique portrait of Catherine de’ Medici with her children is important not just for its great intrinsic value and meaning, but also because it gives us the possibility to reconstruct one of the many historical narratives that were at the basis of Walpole’s collecting strategies,’ says Dr Silvia Davoli, curator at Strawberry Hill House. ‘This portrait speaks to us of Walpole’s interest in the Italian and French Renaissance, its protagonists and great art.’ strawberryhillhouse.org.uk