Memorial Portrait of John and Joan Cooke
Memorial Portrait of John and Joan Cooke (Painting), Unknown (1600s)This is one of 12 civic portraits from the city of Gloucester and depicts husband and wife John (d.1528) and Joan (d.1545) Cooke. It was painted long after the sitters died, probably around 1600, to commemorate and celebrate their achievements and to serve as a reminder to follow their example of good citizenship. John is depicted wearing his mayor’s robe and Joan holds a pair of gloves. These may be John’s Freeman’s gloves, displaying the civic status of both John and Joan who is holding them. The inscription records that Joan continued the charitable work of John following his death.
This sort of portrait would be displayed in public places like town- or guildhalls. The display of portraits of former mayors and other notable members of the town corporation constructed a sense of collective identity and promoted the status of the civic body. Members of the gentry would display pictures of important ancestors in their homes to highlight their status through family lineage, but members of the urban elite could display pictures of their civic predecessors to demonstrate their civic lineage. As such, remembrance of the virtues of past leaders could be used to bolster the status, authority and position of current officeholders within the community.
| Object Type | Painting |
| Year | Unknown (1600s) |
| Material | Oil on wood |
| Owned By | Gloucester Museums Service Art Collection, Art UK |
| Keywords | portrait; remembering; self-fashioning; displaying; looking; office-holding; memory; performance; marriage; death; painting; gloves |
| Image Credit | Painting, © Gloucester Museums Service Art Collection. |