Under the auctioneer's hammer
This portrait of Sir Francis Drake was sold at Christie's in London in October
2009 for over 23,000 GBP.
Under the auctioneer's hammer
This portrait of Sir Francis Drake was sold at Christie's in London in October
2009 for over 23,000 GBP.
English School, early 17th Century
Portrait of Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1595), bust-length, in armour, a shield in
his right hand depicting English galleons at sea, firing broadside at an
approaching flotilla
oil on panel
12¾ x 10¾ in. (32.4 x 27.3 cm.)
The description reads, in part, as follows:
The present picture appears to relate to a portrait of the sitter, by the French
artist Jean Rabel, in reverse. Rabel's portrait of Drake is known through an
oval engraving by Thomas de Leu (a pupil of the artist), purporting to be copied
from a portrait painted from life by Rabel. The engraving is inscribed around
its perimeter with 'Francisvs Draeck Nobilissimvs Eqves Angliae Ano. Sve. 43',
and either the original or the engraving was dedicated to Edward Stafford,
English Ambassador to the French court. Another engraving of the Rabel portrait
by Paul de la Houuse appears in a book published in Leyden in 1588.