Cathy's Art Diary

Small exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery looking at the life of Princess Henrietta Anne, the youngest daughter of Charles I and a great ally of her brother Charles II. She was smuggled out of England during the Civil War and raised at the French court, marrying Louis XIV’s younger brother, the gay Earl of Orleans. Sadly she died aged just 26 but did use her political position to help Charles II. The main picture in the show was by Jean Nocret of her in a stunning blue dress. There were also examples of the letters between herself and her brother full of court life and gossip. This was a fascinating look at a forgotten, short life which was very significant at the time.

Fascinating exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery looking at the history of Tudor and Stuart dress through pictures and objects in the Royal Collection. In each section there were information boards explaining the men and women’s fashion in a particular period, labeling all the main features and explaining how things had changed since the previous board. These were then surrounded by pictures, documents and items of clothing. There were also good explanations on the audio tour of how the clothes worked and how they were kept clean. It was fascinating to see how people were pinned, tied and sewn into their clothes each day. It must have taken ages to get ready and the clothes must have been so heavy and uncomfortable. I also loved the fact that the labels pointed out major pieces of jewelry and told you which other pictures they had appeared in. I was amazed at two portraits of Frances Stuart, one a classic Lely Windsor Beauty portrait, the other of her dresses as a man! E...