Sir Peter Lely
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Sir Peter Lely” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
This is a copy in miniature after the large-scale self-portrait in oils by Peter Lely of 1660 (in the National Portrait Gallery, London). It was an established practice in the 17th century to copy in miniature works by Old Masters. Charles Beale the younger was the son of Mary Beale, the oil painter, who was friends with Sir Peter Lely. His father, Charles Beale the elder, was retired from the Patents Office and lived the life of a connoisseur and collector. He was keen that his son should learn to paint, probably not for economic reasons but to acquire the knowledge and skill to be able to converse with other members of cultivated society. At the age of 17 the younger Charles was sent to learn to paint miniatures with Thomas Flatman, another friend of the Beale family.
Read on
This miniature was painted only two years later and is signed ‘CB’. This work is different in technique to other works by Beale the younger, but it is attributed to him despite the fact that Beale the elder had also learned miniature painting from Flatman. Young Charles also spent time sketching in Lely's studio, but this copy was probably after a version of the self-portrait that hung in the Beale family home in London.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 555-1905
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
