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| Wednesday, 5 May 2004 |
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Portrait painter Peter Lily The greatest of all by Gwen Herat
Peter Lily was a Dutchman in England though born in Germany and flourished coinciding with the death of Van Dyck. It was a tailor-made situation for any painter of that time and Lily seized the opportunity to take on the mantle of this Flemish painter as the outstanding portrait painter in the country. England could not have hoped for better. He was hard working and prolific and his paintings were commanding attention. With the aid of his well-appointed studio, his portraits became renowned based on the languorous beauties. Men of high intellect too sat for him as did the royalty. Though Lily lived through the Civil War, he had a inseparable link with the restoration court of Charles II and the world saw this concept through his eyes. Undoubtedly Lily was the outstanding painter of his generation for which he was knighted. He was born to wealthy parents at South East in Northern Germany on 14 September 1618. He was born as Peter Van Der Faes but adopted the name Lily from the house in which his father was born in Hague. The house had a lily carved on the gable. His father served in the army as a captain and was the Elector of Barndenburg. His mother hailed from a distinguished family in Utrect. Lily's father observed his son's inclination towards art and sent him to study it in Haarlem under Frans Pietres de Grebber, a talented painter of the time. He studied for two years under him but the young Lily was impatient to learn more and went to Holland. It provided a stimulating atmosphere for the budding portraitist in the company of Frans Hals who was a leading painter in Haarlem. There were also a host of artists who maintained a level of quality with Rembrandt rising to dominate the scene. This was highly competitive to Lily who found it difficult to keep pace with the lot. The exact time of his arrival in England is not known but one art critic had suggested that he might have accompanied Prince William of Orange when he came over to wed the daughter of King Charles I. With an unlikely time guessed on his arrival and with painters from low countries making money on their exhibits for want of talented artists, Lily found the situation on a platter, especially with Charles I being a renowned art collecting monarch in Europe. His first contact was with an art dealer, George Geldorp who had come over to England from Antwerp. He was maintaining the king's painting and was believed to have had in his possession a collection of Van Dyck's. Geldop was quick to notice where Lily's talent lay and invited him to examine and study the Van Dyck collection. It was a ruse by Geldop to expand his collection which he did through the talent of Lily and in the process explained why Lily began to paint in the style of this Flemish master. Luck
Lily was very lucky because within a short time of his arrival in England, the notable portraits disappeared and Van Dyck himself died in 1641. Many leading painters died while the rest retired which left an open field for Lily. He commenced with nature painting and in no time found where his craft lay. He took up to portrait painting, selecting beautiful subjects, mostly with dignity. He was a genius at landscaping mixed up with small figures but being passionate about the character in people's faces, Lily opted for portraits that took him to dizzy heights. His imaginative approach to humble portraits too were his signature. He had a sense of distinction to separate the royalty and the poor, doing both in equally and dignified style. By 1654, he was acclaimed as the best artist in England and his future portraits were assured though he still displayed an interest in more ambitious projects. By now he has living in a house on the Pizza in Covent Garden which only the rich could afford. With the help of another artist, Balthasar Gerbier, he proposed to decorate the Whitehall Palace. This was in the form of a series of paintings depicting the events of the Cold War and the Parliament. However, this suggestion was never to take place because of political events that culminated in the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660. By now Lily had amassed several influential patrons. One such person was the Countess of Dysarf who preserved her magnificent property with many of Lily's paintings permanently preserved. All this wealth and fame earned by Lily led him to the court of King Charles II. He was uniquely qualified for the role but his talents extended beyond being the official painter. In the process, Lily had retained some Dutch influence that were revealed in portraits of unknown figures.
Lily earned considerable wealth and was also paid a salary by the Crown. However when he died he left debts amounting to over 9,000 sterling pounds. He managed to build a magnificent collection of art consisting of drawings, paintings, prints etc. that came under the hammer to pay his debts. He was known to have owned at least 25 original paintings of Van Dyck and many more of other painters of his time. His one regret was that he never had the opportunity to visit Italy and marvel her collection. He shuddered when Charles I was executed in 1649. In 1654 he painted a portrait of Oliver Cromwell. He visited Holland in 1656 and witnessed the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. The following year, he was made the principal painter by Charles II and in 1662 was granted naturalization. In 1680, Lily was knighted. On 30 November 1680, Lily collapsed and died, leaving him only few months to enjoy his knighthood. Lily was buried at St. Peter's Cathedral on 7 December 1680. **** Back **** |
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