Sir Rowland Cotton
by SOMER, Paulus van, Oil on canvas, 112 x 87 cm
Sir Rowland Cotton (1577-1634) of Alkington Hall, Whitechurch, and Bellaport Hall, Shropshire was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1605 and 1629.
The sitter is wearing one of the most resplendent costume pieces of this period and the silk doublet and breeches are virtuosically tailored with deep slashing on the doublet to reveal a layer of blue silk beneath. Remarkably, the splendid costume has survived, and today is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.