Portret van Thomas Wentworth 1669 - 1683

Alexander Browne made this print of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, sometime in the late 17th century. Browne was part of a new cadre of professional printmakers in England at the time, and he specialized in portraits like this one. Let’s consider what this image tells us about the role of portraiture in England at this time. Wentworth was a controversial figure, a close advisor to Charles I who was eventually impeached and executed by Parliament. Browne’s portrait seems to want to rehabilitate Wentworth’s image. Clad in armor, he is presented as a noble military man, posed against a dramatic landscape and a troop of soldiers. The inscription at the bottom declares him “The Right Hon. Thomas Earle of Strafford.” As art historians, we can look to other prints and paintings from the period, as well as political pamphlets and official records, to understand how Wentworth was viewed by different groups in English society. We need this context to understand the social and political work that this image was intended to do.