Peter Lely (1618-1680) was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch parents in Soest in Westphalia,[1] where his father was an officer serving in the armed forces of the Elector of Brandenburg. Lely studied painting in Haarlem, where he may have been apprenticed to Pieter de Grebber. He became a master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Haarlem in 1637. He is reputed to have adopted the surname "Lely" (also occasionally spelled Lilly) from a heraldic lily on the gable of the house where his father was born in The Hague. Around 1641, Lely left for England, where he soon emerged as a leading portraitist. Working for many of the late Anthony van Dyck's patrons, Lely took the opportunity to study his predecessor's paintings carefully. He incorporated van Dyck's sense of scale, shimmering handling of paint, and repertoire of design and accessories with his own impeccable drawing and Dutch qualities of rich color, dramatic lighting, and romantic landscape. During the Commonwealth he adopted a severe, puritanical style, but his Restoration portraits of women are noted for their subtle colouring, skillful rendering of silk, and the air of sensuous languor with which they invest their subjects - e.g., the portrait series of court ladies entitled The Windsor Beauties (1660s; Hampton Court, London). In 1661 Lely became the Principal Painter of the restored English monarchy and reached the peak of his career during the reign of Charles II. In 1679, he was awarded a knighthood. He died soon afterwards at his easel in Covent Garden on 30 November 1680 while painting a portrait of the Duchess of Somerset.
