Artwork details
Artist
Marcus Gheeraerts II 1561 or 2–1636
Title
Portrait of Captain Thomas Lee
Date
1594
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 2305 x 1508 mm
frame: 2415 x 1595 x 100 mm
frame: 2415 x 1595 x 100 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Purchased with assistance from the Friends of the Tate Gallery, the Art Fund and the Pilgrim Trust 1980
Reference
T03028
Display caption
Thomas was related to Sir Henry Lee, Elizabeth I's Champion and creator of imagery for her annual Accession Day celebrations. Henry may have helped devise the complex symbolism of this portrait. Thomas served in the English colonial forces in Ireland. His bare legs are a fantasy evocation both of the dress of an Irish soldier, and that of a Roman hero. Thomas was suspected of treachery to Elizabeth and visited London in 1594 partly to refute this. The Latin inscription in the tree refers to the Roman Mucius Scaevola, who stayed true to Rome even when among its enemies. Lee implies that he too is faithful.
May 2011
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Artist
Marcus Gheeraerts II
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Date
1594
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