Inscribed in yellow paint in cartouche, upper right: "Rien m'estone"
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B2021.15
Classification:
Paintings
Collection:
Paintings and Sculpture
Subject Terms:
portrait
Currently On View:
Not on view
Publications:
Christie's sale catalogue : Anonymous Sale : 11 June 1999, Christie's, Christie's, June 11, 1999, lot 5, Not at YaleChristie’s sale catalogue : Jasper Conran: The Collection Part I : 14 September 2021, Christie's, London, lot 119, https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6331942?ldp_breadcrumb=back&intObjectID=6331942&from=salessummary&lid=1Conran Collection, Smith Greenfield, 10 Sep 2021, https://smithgreenfield.co.uk/conran-collection/Annunciata Elwes, Going, going, gone, Country Life, September 1, 2021, p. 45, S3 .C68 Oversize (YCBA)R. Guilding, Jasper Wares, World of interiors, Apr 2021, p. 154, Not at YaleSusan Moore, Art Market Preview, Apollo, vol. 194, London, September 1, 2021, p. 69, Art & Architecture SourceSusan Moore, Art Market Review, Apollo, v. 194, London, Nov. 2021, p. 72, N1 A54 Oversize (YCBA)J. Sherwood, Baby Grand, World of Interiors, Mar 2002, p. 135, Not at Yale.Roy C. Strong, The Elizabethan image : an introduction to English portraiture, 1558-1603, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp. 140-143, , pl. 139, 140, ND1314.2 .S87 2019 (YCBA)
Gallery Label:
The French inscription 'Rien m’estone' translates to: Nothing astonishes me, or perhaps in this context: What more can I do? Using symbolic imagery, this portrait makes an impassioned claim for Anthony Maria Browne’s loyalty to his monarch, Elizabeth I. With her own subjects plotting against her Protestant regime, the queen also faced threats from Catholics abroad: in 1588, the King of Spain launched an armada carrying an invasion force to England. Consequently, English Catholics such as Browne were treated with deep suspicion. With his arms folded and legs crossed in melancholic fashion, he leans against an oak tree — a symbol of the strength of England. The frogs and snakes below symbolize those who slandered his reputation. In the distance, storms and shipwrecks recall the defeat of the Spanish Armada, providing a reminder that at her darkest hour, Browne’s family had ridden to Elizabeth I’s side. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2022