A Puritan sailor of fortune, the second Earl of Warwick set up companies in Virginia and the Caribbean, helped colonize Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and seized Spanish ships on behalf of the Duke of Savoy and Charles I. The latter’s policies made Warwick side with Parliament as commander of the navy (from 1642). Despite allusions to his maritime adventures in the armor and ships, Warwick wears the everyday dress of an aristocrat and the witty smile for which he was known.
Robert Rich, Second Earl of Warwick
oil on canvas • 208 x 128 cm
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Anthony van Dyck