Prior to Charles II’s return to England, there was no guarantee that the recovery of his father’s art collection would be successful. Anticipating the worst, Charles turned to William Frizell, a picture dealer in Breda, who sold him a group of 72 pictures, including a large number of Italian Renaissance paintings with religious subjects and works by Northern Old Masters.

The four paintings in this section were amongst those purchased from Frizell. They give a clear indication of Charles II’s own taste, since he probably had the opportunity to see and select the paintings in person from the dealer’s stock. They were hung in key rooms at Whitehall and Hampton Court, and integrated with the recovered paintings from Charles I’s collection. Although Italian paintings were regarded by some as dangerously Catholic works of art, most visitors to the palaces were simply impressed by the fine quality of the pictures on display.