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About 1748

On Display PORTRAIT GALLERY

  • Scottish Art
Born in exile in Italy, Prince Henry was the second son of James Francis Edward Stuart, king of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland according to the Jacobites. Unlike his brother, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Henry chose to pursue a career in the church as opposed to fighting the Jacobite cause. In July 1747 he was appointed a Cardinal and ordained as a priest the following year, fulfilling a genuine religious vocation. Painted shortly after his appointment, this work shows Henry in the red robes of a cardinal.

Glossary Open

Jacobite

Jacobitism was a movement to restore the descendants of the Stuart King James VII and II to the British throne. The first claimant, Prince James Francis Edward (known as 'the Old Pretender') was exiled first in France, then Italy, from where he planned unsuccessful attempts to claim the throne. His son Prince Charles Edward (known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' or 'the Young Pretender') famously invaded Britain in 1745, but after some military successes was finally defeated at Culloden in 1746.

Jacobite

Details

  • Acc. No. PG 624
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Size 68.60 x 53.40 cm (framed: 89.80 x 74.00 x 5.50 cm)
  • Credit Purchased 1903

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Part of

Scottish Art

Located In See floorplan

Portrait Second floor
  • Scottish National Portrait Gallery / Second floor / Gallery 4