Not on display
- Artist
- Sir Peter Lely 1618–1680
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 1232 × 1010 mm
frame: 1595 × 1220 × 120 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Purchased 1921
- Reference
- N03583
Display caption
Van Helmont, shown here aged about fifty-three, was a celebrated alchemist and physician. This portrait was probably commissioned by Lady Conway of Ragley shortly after Van Helmont arrived in England in 1670.
An inscription on the pedestal in the lower right corner, probably added in the eighteenth century, describes one aspect of the skills which brought Van Helmont fame: ‘Anne Finch Viscountess Conway dying at / Rageley 1678 while her Lord was in Ireland / She was preserved in her Coffin by Van Helmont / with a Glass over her face, till Lord Conway’s return ...’
Gallery label, August 2004
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Features
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Frans Mercurius van Helmont 1670–1: By Peter Lely
Read technical information about this painting resulting from examination and scientific analysis by conservators and conservation scientists at Tate
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