The Somerset House Conference, 1604 is an oil-on-canvas painting depicting the Somerset House Conference held in 1604 to negotiate the end the Anglo-Spanish War. It is a group portrait, depicting the 11 representatives of the governments of England, Spain and the Spanish Netherlands, seated around a conference table, probably in old Somerset House.
Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, and her successor James I quickly sought to end the 18 years of conflict. Philip III of Spain had also inherited the war from his predecessor Philip II. Both new kings were happy to end the expensive and distracting conflict.
The conference was held in 18 sessions between 20 May and 16 July 1604. The treaty was signed on 16 August, and restored the status quo ante bellum. Spain was compelled to recognise the Protestant monarchy in England, and England ended its financial and military support for the Dutch rebellion since the Treaty of Nonsuch in 1585. Following the signing of the treaty, England and Spain remained at peace until 1625.
James gave the Spanish delegates generous gifts, including the Royal Gold Cup which was given to the leader of the Spanish delegation, Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías.
The painting bears a signature of Spanish painter Juan Pantoja de la Cruz and is dated 1594, but both signature and date are thought to be false. The painter is unknown but may be Flemish, possibly John De Critz (the Elder). The room depicted is likely to be an interior in Old Somerset House (rebuilt from 1775).
The work includes portraits of the 11 government representatives, each seated in an elaborate chair of estate to either side of a long rectangular table covered by a fine oriental carpet of the so-called Holbein carpet type, a common object of luxury to display in Jacobean portraiture. In front of Robert Cecil are a pewter ink-pot, a quill and a piece of paper. Leaded window behind the sitters reveals a courtyard with shrubs. The tapestries on the walls to either side bear the date 1560, and there are rushes on the floor.
The Spanish ambassadors were lodged at Somerset House, and the painting may represent the Council Chamber in the east of wing of its main quadrangle, the view from window conforming with plans of the demolished palace. [1]
Depicted on the right side of the table are the five English delegates representing James I; in order of precedence, from the window:
On the left is the delegation from Spain representing Philip III; in order from the window:
And then the delegation from the Spanish Netherlands representing Albert VII, Archduke of Austria:
One version, thought to be the original, is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London, and a copy at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
1601 (MDCI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1601st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 601st year of the 2nd millennium, the 1st year of the 17th century, and the 2nd year of the 1600s decade. As of the start of 1601, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
1607 (MDCVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1607th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 607th year of the 2nd millennium, the 7th year of the 17th century, and the 8th year of the 1600s decade. As of the start of 1607, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
Year 1460 (MCDLX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1460th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 460th year of the 2nd millennium, the 60th year of the 15th century, and the 1st year of the 1460s decade.
The Treaty of London, signed on 18 August O.S. 1604, concluded the nineteen-year Anglo-Spanish War. The treaty restored the status quo between the two nations. The negotiations probably took place at Somerset House in Westminster and are sometimes known as the Somerset House Conference.
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham, KG, known as Lord Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I. He was commander of the English forces during the battles against the Spanish Armada and was chiefly responsible for the victory that saved England from invasion by the Spanish Empire.
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Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery, was an English courtier, nobleman, and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I. He married Susan de Vere, the youngest daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, the Oxfordians' William Shakespeare. Philip and his older brother William were the 'incomparable pair of brethren' to whom the First Folio of Shakespeare's collected works was dedicated in 1623.
Dom João I of Braganza was the 6th Duke of Braganza and 1st Duke of Barcelos, among other titles. He is known for pushing the claims of his wife, Infanta Catherine of Guimarães, to the throne of Portugal.
Lucas de Heere was a Flemish painter, poet and writer. His costume books and portraits are a valuable resource in depicting 16th-century clothing.
John de Critz or John Decritz was one of a number of painters of Flemish origin active at the English royal court during the reigns of James I of England and Charles I of England. He held the post of Serjeant Painter to the king from 1603, at first jointly with Leonard Fryer and from 1610 jointly with Robert Peake the Elder.
Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat.
Events from the 1500s in England.
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Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens's highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history. His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation. Rubens was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp.
Carpets of Middle-Eastern origin, either from Anatolia, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Levant, the Mamluk state of Egypt or Northern Africa, were used as decorative features in Western European paintings from the 14th century onwards. More depictions of Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting survive than actual carpets contemporary with these paintings. Few Middle-Eastern carpets produced before the 17th century remain, though the number of these known has increased in recent decades. Therefore, comparative art-historical research has from its onset in the late 19th century relied on carpets represented in datable European paintings.
Juan de Tassis y Acuña, 1st Count of Villamediana, was a Spanish diplomat and official, awarded his title by king Felipe III of Spain in 1603, and the General Head of Spanish Post Offices.
George Seton V, 7th Lord Seton (1531–1586), was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland, Master of the Household of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Provost of Edinburgh. He was the eldest son of George Seton, 6th Lord Seton, and Elizabeth Hay, a daughter of John Hay, 3rd Lord Hay of Yester. His childhood and schooling were in France.
The Spanish Company was an English chartered company or corporate body established in 1530, and 1577, confirmed in 1604, and re-established in 1605 as President, Assistants and Fellowship of Merchants of England trading into Spain and Portugal, whose purpose was the facilitation and control of English trade between England and Spain through the establishment of a corporate monopoly of approved merchants.