15 Facts About Peter Lely

Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.

Peter Lely became a naturalised British subject and was knighted in 1679.

Peter Lely became a master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Haarlem in 1637.

Peter Lely is reputed to have adopted the surname "Lely" from a heraldic lily on the gable of the house where his father was born in The Hague.

Peter Lely arrived in London in around 1643, His early English paintings, mainly mythological or religious scenes, or portraits set in a pastoral landscape, show influences from Anthony van Dyck and the Dutch baroque.

Peter Lely's portraits were well received, and he succeeded Anthony van Dyck as the most fashionable portrait artist in England.

Peter Lely became a freeman of the Painter-Stainers' Company in 1647 and was a portrait artist to Charles I His talent ensured that his career was not interrupted by Charles's execution, and he served Oliver Cromwell, whom he painted "warts and all", and Richard Cromwell.

The young Robert Hooke came to London to follow an apprenticeship with Peter Lely before being given a place at Westminster School by Richard Busby.

Peter Lely played a significant role in introducing the mezzotint to Britain, as he realized its possibilities for publicising his portraits.

Peter Lely encouraged Dutch mezzotinters to come to Britain to copy his work, laying the foundations for the English mezzotint tradition.

Peter Lely died soon afterwards at his easel in Covent Garden, while painting a portrait of the Duchess of Somerset.

Sir Peter Lely was buried at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden.

Peter Lely was replaced as court portraitist jointly by John Riley and Sir Godfrey Kneller, a German-born Dutchman, whose style drew from Lely's but reflected later Continental trends.

Peter Lely painted both men and women, but with a greater inclination towards the latter, whose cleavage was often accentuated, sometimes to the point of having one breast fully exposed.

The loss in 1929 of a "family portrait by Sir Peter Lely" was reported in the fire at Pit House, Farley Heath, Albury.