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MR. D’ARCY POWER’S PORTRAIT OF HARVEY
A three-quarter length of Harvey on a panel measuring 15½ in. x 12½ in. Harvey is represented standing in his study, with his left hand resting upon a table whereon is spread a diagram of the arterial system. He is clothed in a long-sleeved, damascened waistcoat confined at the waist by a belt, with collar and wristbands of point lace. Over all he wears a long gown heavily trimmed with fur. The background is a green curtain partially drawn aside to show the shelves of his study, and on the curtain is an inscription in red letters: ‘Gulielmus Harveus M.D. Aet. sue 61, 1639.’ The accessories are interesting. On the table a watch keeps down the edge of the diagram to prevent it folding up. There is an inkstand with a quill pen in it and a terrestrial globe. Immediately behind the table is a shelf on which is a simple microscope fitted with a coarse and fine adjustment, a retort partly filled with fluid, a pair of scissors, a dissecting-knife, and a sheet of paper. The bookcase consists of six wooden shelves divided by a median partition. The lowermost shelf has a urine-glass and a minim measure. In the partition nearest Harvey are two flasks, one containing a green, the other a red fluid; a wide-mouthed jar covered with parchment—the jar is earthenware—and behind it are two square bottles like case-bottles. A quire of loose paper leans against it. On the other side of the partition of this lower shelf are two bottles, one unstoppered, the other stoppered, filled respectively with a red and green fluid. There is also an object like a catherine wheel. The second shelf from the bottom contains thirteen dumpy duodecimo volumes bound uniformly in parchment, whilst upon the other side of the partition are three quarto volumes well bound in morocco and piled one upon the other. The third shelf from the bottom is filled with books, four of which are smaller than the rest. The fourth shelf is wholly filled with books except for a space showing where one has been removed. The fifth shelf contains books of various sizes. On the top shelf are two skulls, a square case upon which stands a stoppered phial filled with some red substance, and four earthenware jars whose mouths are closed with parchment covers tied on. The picture is unsigned. It is painted in the traditional style, where much attention was paid to the minute details of dress and accessories, so that the work became almost that of a miniaturist. The face is clearly that of Harvey, a little lined, beard and moustache of the usual cut, hair worn long, partly hidden by a skull-cap. It represents Harvey in his happier days when as yet the King his master was alive, for in 1639—the date of the picture—he had just been appointed Senior Physician in Ordinary to the King, a post which carried with it those lodgings at Whitehall pillaged by the mob in 1642, when his goods were stolen and his papers scattered. The picture may show these very lodgings. In spite of its appearance of age there is reason to doubt whether it is a contemporary portrait.
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