Mural Thru
CHARLES II AND THE LORDS PROPRIETORS
In the series painted by Francis V. Kughler for the
institute of Government building in Chapel Hill
The puiniinj! of King Charles and ihc Lords Proprietors was one
of the two murals that I took to England to carry out.
As a youngster I had read many talcs of Prince Charles and his
hair-raising escapes from Oliver Cromwell's men. It was exciting
after all these years to have the pleasure of making him live again.
The mural portrays him. after his kingdom had been restored to
him. presenting a charter to Carolina to eight distinguished men
who had aided him in coming to his throne; they became the Lords
Proprietors of Carolina. I felt the King might have used this as the
occasion for a feast, and
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1 set the scene of the mural in the ban¬
quet hall at Whitehall.
In the painting, the moment for more serious business has ar¬
rived. Ihc table has been cleared of dishes, the goblets filled, and
the philosopher. John Locke, who later drew up an elaborate con¬
stitution for governing the Carolinas. stands behind the King ready
to hand him the charter for bestowal. Ihc King has just risen to
his feet, about to propose a toast, and the Lords are rising after
him.
At the King's right hand sits his mistress. Barbara Villicrs. Lady
Cleveland, and at his left, his wife. Catharine of Braganza. I have
painted the Queen with a rather sullen expression for 'he certainly
had no reason to be happy. Barbara Villicrs had originally been
brought to the English court as the Queen's ladv-in-waiting. As the
mistress who was bearing a succession of children to the King, a
feat which the Queen was unable to accomplish, she had acquired
a position of great influence.
Ranged around the table arc the eight Lords Proprietors. Next to
the Queen, and still seated since he has not yet seen the King rise,
is Edward Hyde, the Earl of Clarendon, who was Lord Chancellor
and the King's first Minister. Standing next to Barbara Villicrs.
with his left hand on the back of a chair, is Anthony Ashlcy-
Coopei. Chancellor of the Exchequer and member of the Special
Council for Foreign Plantations, who later became the Earl of
Shaftesbury. Standing at the far end of the table is Sir William
Berkeley, at that time Governor of Virginia. The man to his right
is Sir George Carteret. Privy Councillor. Treasurer of the Navy,
and famous in the recent English Civil War. Across from the King,
in the act of rising with his right hand on the back of a chair, is
John. Lord Berkeley. Privy Councillor, active in naval affairs, and
brother of Sir William Berkeley. Further forward, with glass
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upward anticipating the King’s toast and with his right hand on the
table supporting his weight, is the F.arl of Craven, an old soldier
of the King and a man of great wealth. Prominent in the left fore¬
ground. with his hand on the arm of his thoughtful young woman
partner, is Sir John Colleton, also a member of the Special Council
for Foreign Plantations. Standing with his back to the spectator at
the near end of the table and looking to the left at the couple who
arc turned away from the King is George Monck. Duke of Albe¬
marle. Master of the King’s Horse, and Captain General of all his
forces. At the right of the Duke, a buxom lady reaches os’er to
touch the shoulder of the young lady, trying to call her attention to
the fact that the King has risen and is waiting for their attention.
It was only after much study that the composition of this ban¬
quet scene was solved. Once again the problem was how to present
the people so that their faces could be seen. I must have made
dozens of sketches to work out the arrangement of the table with
the people grouped around it.
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I studied many lighting effects in sketches and then tried to re¬
produce the actual lighting so as to give me the same pattern effect.
Ihc angle of the table with the King standing upright against it be¬
came very weak in the center. I tried throwing the shadow of the
King across the table at the opposite angle to its edge, but this was
over positive and brought the eye too much off center. At length 1
solved the problem by placing a globe on the table within the
shadow and strengthened the design by a judicious accent of the
map spread out on the table; I then put a goblet in the hand of the
Earl of Craven. 1 think I placed Craven's hand in at least fifty
places before I found the spot that would bring attention to the
King and stabilize the movement. The globe and map on the table
also give a good idea of what the party was about, aided, of course,
by the charter in John Locke's hand and the secretary behind him
with quill and ink held ready.
I had much trouble getting correct models for this mural as there
arc not many plays or pageants built around Charles II and his
court; in consequence, models resembling courtiers of the period
are not easily available, and in some instances I had to wait until
I returned home to find them. In the models of the King and
Barbara Villicrs, however. I was extremely fortunate. My good
friend. Lady Patricia Cottcnham. introduced me to a man who
looked just like King Charles. He was her cousin. Commander,
the Honorable John Maurice FitzRoy Ncwdcgatc. a direct de¬
scendant of the King by Barbara Villicrs. Lady Cleveland. When
he heard what I was after, he very willingly consented to pose for
me I learned that his daughter. Josclyn. greatly resembled Barbara
Villicrs. In short, 1 was soon painting both of them at my studio
in Warwick Gardens. As I painted Josclyn, 1 reminded her that she
was posing for her grandmother of three hundred years earlier.
She was a jolly girl and told me that she would rather have been
a defendant of another of the King’s mistresses, the flower girl
and actress. Nell Gwynn.
Both FitzRoy Ncwdcgatc and his daughter. Joss, were wonderful
and co-operative models, and their likenesses to the King and his
mistress were almost perfect. The only alteration in the family
features that had occurred over the centuries was that their noses
had become shorter. All I had to do was to lift the upper half of
the face, drop the lower half, and introduce in between the addi¬
tional length of nose I needed.
In the mural Charles II holds one of his favorite spaniels. He
was rarely seen without one and had been known to leave im-
poitant affairs of state in concern over their welfare. The particular
breed he developed is called by his name today. 1 had an awkward
time with the dog in the mural since the King Charles spaniels of
today have shorter and less pointed noses than the original breed.
Consequently I had to refer to paintings of the King made in his
day. in which they were almost always included, to get the right
kind of nose on the dog.
If I have painted King Charles somewhat severe. I planned it
that way. It is recognized now that he was not the simpering dandy
he appeared to many of his contemporaries, but in fact a man of
great astuteness not only in politics but also in science and art.
If the way I have painted the ladies of the court is not entirely
m accord with the portraits of Lely, the fashionable court painter
( Continued on page II)
the STATE. August 5. <961