Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin
About this object
Hortense Mancini was an intelligent and independent woman. She made her debut at the French court in 1657 and subsequently married the Marquis de La Meilleraye. Her husband was a jealous and increasingly eccentric man and Hortense fled France in 1668. She eventually arrived in England in male costume where she rekindled a previous affair with Charles II of England.
Godfrey Kneller was a leading portrait painter in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was born in Germany and came to England in 1674. Kneller was obsessed with capturing the likeness of his sitters and documented court society for almost 40 years.
