Van Dyck's Deathbed Portrait of Venetia Digby: A Masterpiece of Mourning

Anthony van Dyck's 1633 painting 'Venetia, Lady Digby, on Her Deathbed' at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, is a rare and intimate deathbed portrait. Venetia Anastasia Stanley (c. 1600–1633), daughter of a Shropshire baronet and Lucy Percy, was a celebrated beauty at the court of Charles I, despite rumors linking her to the Earl of Dorset. She married Sir Kenelm Digby in 1625, and van Dyck had previously painted the couple with their sons in 1632–1633. After Venetia's sudden death on May 1, 1633, at age 32, an autopsy was ordered, possibly due to her use of viper wine, a beauty potion. Digby commissioned van Dyck to paint her deathbed likeness, which shows her as if sleeping, with a pallor suggesting death. Van Dyck had earlier painted Sofonisba Anguissola on her deathbed in 1625, and the genre included works by Lucas Cranach the Elder and John Donne's effigy. Digby's mourning was extravagant, including two years at Gresham College and a sermon on her virtues. Van Dyck also completed an allegorical portrait of Venetia as Prudence. The painting is compared to Claude Monet's 1879 portrait of Camille Monet on her deathbed, which shares a cool palette but is more emotional. Van Dyck's work is noted for its peaceful, idealized depiction, contrasting with the raw emotion of Monet's.