Charles II (1630-1685) became King of England and Scotland 14 years after the execution of his father, Charles I (1600-1649), returning to London from exile and ascended to the throne at the age of 30. His father was a passionate admirer of art and collected a huge collection (1570 paintings and 400 antique sculptures), buying canvases by Titian, Andrea Mantegna, Albrecht Durer and ordering works by his great contemporaries Peter Paul Rubens and Antonis van Dyck.
After his execution, part of the collection was looted, some sold abroad. Its dramatic history is dedicated to the exhibition at the Royal Academy of Charles I. King and collector ", where for the first time together more than a hundred masterpieces from the once brilliant monarch collection - from antique sculptures and medieval miniatures to baroque and tapestry paintings that now adorn the best museums in the world. In turn, the exhibition "Charles II. Art and Power "in Buckingham Palace includes about 220 works from the collection collected by Charles II, who ascended the throne after the restoration. Unlike his father, he could not boast of political weight or financial ability. In addition, Charles II art and not particularly interested. Nevertheless, while still in exile in France, he presented the art dealer William Frisell with a whole list of pictures he would like to have, including "Beating the Babies" (1565-1567) by Peter Brueghel the Elder and "Saint Jerome" (1621-1623) ) Georges de Lature.
However, the monarch replenished his collection mainly thanks to gifts. Thus, in 1660, the Dutch provinces in honor of the restoration of the Stuart dynasty in the person of Charles II presented him with the so-called Dutch gift - 28 paintings, mostly masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, and 12 classic sculptures. Among the paintings is "The Mystical Marriage of Catherine of Alexandria" (1562-1569) by Paolo Veronese, "Portrait of Marguerite Palaeologus" (1531) by Giulio Romano, "Portrait of Andrea Odoni" (1527) by Lorenzo Lotto, "Madonna and Child with Landscape with Tobias and the Angel "(1530-1540) Titian.
And Thomas Howard, 4th Earl of Norfolk, to whom Charles returned the lands and title, presented as a token of gratitude the collection of his grandfather - the drawings of Leonardo, Hans Holbein the Elder, Raphael, Parmigianino and Durer. Of the ravaged collection of his father, Charles II was able to return a little, in particular "Sibylus" (1635-1638) Orazio Gentileski, which is also included in the exhibition.
Antonis van Dyck. "Triple portrait of Charles I". 1635-1636. Photo: Royal Collection Trust / Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2017 John Michael Wright. «Portrait of Charles II». Around 1676. Photo: Royal Collection Trust / Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2017.