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George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville, 1636 - 1707. Statesman
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George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville, 1636 - 1707. Statesman 1691
  • Scottish Art
Lord Melville was a strong supporter of William of Orange, whose arrival in England in 1688 marked the end of the Stuart dynasty's rule of Britain. He was made Secretary of State for Scotland in 1689. Melville was one of the Scottish aristocrats who persauded Medina to settle in Edinburgh. Under the glamorous armour and wig, this is a sensitive portrait of an older man, with sunken cheeks and thin lips.

Glossary Open

The Stuarts (The Stewarts)

The Stewarts / Stuarts were a Scottish royal dynasty that began with Robert II in the late fourteenth century. In 1603, with the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England, James VI became James I of England. The Stuart reign saw a brief interruption with the republican Commonwealth due to the English Civil War, which followed Charles I’s execution in 1649, but it was restored in 1660 with Charles II as king. After the 1707 Acts of Union, the Stuarts became the heads of state of the newly created Great Britain. However, with childless Queen Anne’s death in 1714 the crown passed to the House of Hanover. The variant in spelling, from Stewart to Stuart, was due to Mary, Queen of Scots adopting the latter, French spelling, when she lived in France. This became the standard for future generations.

The Stuarts (The Stewarts)

Details

  • Acc. No. PG 1532
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Size 127.00 x 101.80 cm (framed 146.00 x 123.00 x 10.00 cm)
  • Credit Purchased 1949

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Scottish Art