Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
Kay sometimes made etchings of important historical figures, as well as portraying his Edinburgh contemporaries. Here he based a half-length image of Scotland's most famous queen on an engraving by George Vertue, the latter in turn relying on a sixteenth-century painting by Nicholas Hillard. Mary Stuart is shown half-length within an oval, wearing a dark gown with a ruff, gauzy cape, gable headdress, and a cross hanging at her front. The print was used to illustrate a later edition of William Robertson's "The History of Scotland during the reign of Queen Mary and King James VI till his accession to the Crown of England" (first published 1759); see 58.549.166 for another impression and 58.549.167 for a variant.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
- Artist: John Kay (British, Dalkeith, Scotland 1742–1826 Edinburgh)
- Sitter: Mary, Queen of Scots (British, Linlithgow 1542–1587 Fotheringhay)
- Date: 1793
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: image: 3 1/4 x 2 9/16 in. (8.2 x 6.5 cm)
sheet: 4 9/16 x 3 3/16 in. (11.6 x 8.1 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.756–1112
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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