Painting of the Day: Charles II Giving Audience at Christ’s Hospital, 1680

Charles II Giving Audience at Christ's Hospital
1680
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here we see a painting that served as a preparatory work for a larger picture whose main theme was the glorification of Charles II (1630-1685). In it, we see the King with the governors, masters and children of Christ's Hospital, a London charity school.


This painting dates to the early 1680s and is the work of Antonio Verrio who was responsible for some of the redecoration of Windsor Castle.

Verrio (ca. 1639-1707) was born in Lecce, South Italy and studied in Naples before travelling through Italy and France where he settled for a while in Toulouse. Later, he went to London where he was commissioned for the decoration of the state rooms at Windsor Castle (1675-ca.1684) and the new state apartments at Hampton Court Palace (1700-02).