Mysterious portrait could be of ‘Nine Days Queen' Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane was Queen of England for just nine days, from July 10 to July 19 1553, and was proclaimed Queen as part of an unsuccessful bid to prevent the accession of her Catholic cousin, Mary Tudor.
English Heritage said research including dendrochronology (tree ring dating) and infra-red reflectography, has provided 'compelling evidence' in favour of confirming that the portrait depicts Lady Jane.
Existing depictions and the few known representations of Lady Jane – including The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, a painting by Paul Delaroche – are all known to have been painted after her death.
Lady Jane was executed on Tower Green at the Tower of London on February 12 1554 at the age of 17.
English Heritage said analysis of the panel upon which the woman is painted – comprised of two Baltic oak boards from two different trees – suggests a likely usage date for the panel between 1539 and circa 1571.
The back of the panel displays a merchant or cargo mark, identical to a mark used on a royal portrait of King Edward VI.
Analysis also shows significant changes were applied to the painting in later years, perhaps to depict Lady Jane as a Protestant martyr.
The portrait, on loan from a private collection, is on display at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire, alongside six other paintings.
Rachel Turnbull, English Heritage's senior collections conservator, said: 'Working alongside the Courtauld Institute of Art, and Dendrochronologist Ian Tyers, English Heritage has undertaken remarkable research in an effort to determine the identity of this portrait.
'While we can't confirm that this is definitely Lady Jane Grey, our results certainly make a compelling argument!
'From the newly discovered evidence of a once perhaps more elaborate costume and the dating of the wooden panel from within her lifetime, to the deliberate scratching of her eyes, it is possible that we are looking at the shadows of a once more royal portrait of Lady Jane Grey, toned down into subdued, Protestant martyrdom after her death.
'Regardless of her identity, the results of our research have been fascinating.'
Historical author Dr Philippa Gregory said: 'This is such an interesting picture posing so many questions, and if this is Jane Grey, a valuable addition to the portraiture of this young heroine, as a woman of character – a powerful challenge to the traditional representation of her as a blindfolded victim.'
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