In 1643/4 the once-famous Francis Cleyn painted the unhappy young
heir of Corfe Castle, John Bankes, and his tutor, Dr Maurice
Williams. The painter is now almost forgotten,the painting much
neglected, and the sitters themselves have left little to mark
their lives, but on the table of the painting lies a book, open to
an immediately identifiable and very significant page. The
representation omits the author's name and the book's title; it
sits there as a code, as only viewers who had encountered the
original and the characteristic figures on its frontispiece would
have known its significance. The book is Galileo's Dialogue on the
two chief world systems (1632), the defence of Copernican cosmology
that incited the infamous clash between its author and the Church,
and its presence in this painting is no accident, but instead a
statement of learning, attitudes, and cosmopolitan engagement in
European discourse by the painting's English subjects. Grasping
hold of the clue, John Helibron deciphers the significance of this
contentious book's appearance in a painting from Stuart England to
unravel the interlocking threads of art history, political and
religious history, and the history of science. Drawing on
unexploited archival material and a wide range of printed works, he
weaves together English court culture and Italian connections, as
well as the astronomical and astrological knowledge propagated in
contemporary almanacs and deployed in art, architecture, plays,
masques, and political discourse. Heilbron also explores the
biographies of Sir John Bankes (father of the sitter), Sir Maurice,
and the painter, Francis Cleyn, setting them into the narrative of
their rich and cultured history.
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