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Portrait of Sir Kenelm Digby
c.1635
91.5 x 71 cm
oil on canvas
Sunflowers were used to symbolise loyalty, because they follow the path of the sun across the sky.
This portrait of the 17th Century gentleman Sir Kenelm Digby was painted after the unexpected death of his wife Lady Venetia Stanley. Rumours abounded at the time that Sir Kenelm had accidentally poisoned his wife with the viper wine he made her drink to preserve her beauty. This was never proved and several years later this portrait with its gloomy sunflower was painted.
The meaning of the sunflower here is slightly unclear. It could denote lasting devotion to his wife, or symbolise his loyalty to the Catholic church to which he reconverted after her death.
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