Explore portrait 3

Explore 'Sir Thomas Lucy and His Family' introduction

This is a 1745 copy of a 1625 portrait. Cornelius Johnson painted the original. The title is 'Sir Thomas Lucy and His Family'. It measures 75cm x 132cm.

There are 5 clues to interpret - see how many you can spot on the first go. At any point you can click on a quarter of the image to zoom in on that quarter. Click again to zoom back out.

If you do not wish to work through this explore section but would like find out more about this portrait, you can do so here.

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That is not right. Do you think that a family that had no money could afford such expensive clothes?

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That's right. The family was wealthy. Only rich people could afford the luxury of having a portrait painted. There are also clues in the painting itself. Look at the mother's jewels, the expensive costumes and the land we can see in the background.

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There are lots of clues in this painting to tell us how much money this family had. Look at their clothes and what is around them and try again.

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Explore 'Sir Thomas Lucy and His Family' (2 of 5)

There are seven children in this painting. Some are boys and some girls. Are the two children at the front boys or girls?

That's right. They are probably little boys. If you look at the bodice (body) of one of their dresses you can see that it looks more like their father's than their sisters'. Boys wore clothes like this until they were about seven years old.

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They have skirts like their sisters but that does not mean that they are definitely girls.

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There are clues that tell us the answer. Look closely at their dresses then look at their sisters' dresses. Are there differences?

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There are two dogs in the painting but this is not the answer. One dog may be involved in the family's hobby though.

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That's right. There are three clues; the hawk, the vicious-looking hunting dog behind Sir Thomas' chair and the spurs on the table. These are all used in hunting. This was probably the hobby of the father and maybe the son.

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Explore 'Sir Thomas Lucy and His Family' (4 of 5)

The family was particularly proud of one of its possessions. Can you tell what it is? You will need to look closely to see the answer.

That's right. A book has been deliberately placed on the table in this portrait (just to the right of the father) to tell us that the family were proud of their library. The library at the Lucy house, Charlecote, is still very impressive.

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Explore 'Sir Thomas Lucy and His Family' (5 of 5)

The boy on the left is carrying apples. What could they tell us?

This is correct. They tell us that the family hoped to grow in the future. The boy is the eldest son. He would become the head of the family on his father's death and would inherit the family wealth.

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What have we discovered?

This was a wealthy family, probably with land.
Up to the age of seven years old, young boys and girls were often dressed in very similar clothes.
The family enjoyed hunting and reading.
They were hopeful of a fruitful future.

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Other things you should remember or think about are:

In the past only wealthy people had portraits made.
You can have more than one person in a portrait.
Portraits involving children and animals are especially difficult to paint. Why?

You can learn more about 'Sir Thomas Lucy and His Family' and Cornelius Johnson here.

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