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Mkey: 166 Sitter/Title: The Somerset House Conference, 1604 Qualifier: by Artist(s): Unknown artist Date made: 1604 Medium: oil on canvas Credit line: © National Portrait Gallery, London Authority data import (Capture): Charles de Ligne, Count of Aremberg, Delegate at the Somerset House Conference, Male, ; Louis Vereyken, Audencier of Brussels, Male, ; Juan de Tassis, Count of Villa Mediana, Delegate at the Somerset House Conference, Male, ; Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, Statesman, Male, Statesmen; Alessandro Robida, Senator of Milan and a delegate at the Somerset House Conference, Male, ; Jean Richardot, President, Privy Council, Male, ; Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, Lord High Admiral, Male, Admirals; Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Male, ; Juan de Velasco Frias, Duke of Frias, Constable of Castile and delegate at the Somerset House Conference, Male, ; Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, Poet and Lord Treasurer, Male, Poets; Charles Blount, Earl of Devonshire, Soldier, Male, Soldiers People Authority (Sitters): Charles Blount, Earl of Devonshire; Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset; Juan de Velasco Frias; Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton; Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham; Jean Richardot; Alessandro Robida; Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury; Juan de Tassis, Count of Villa Mediana; Louis Vereyken; Charles de Ligne, Count of Aremberg Measurements: 81 in. x 105 1/2 in. (2057 mm x 2680 mm) Caption: This group portrait commemorates the peace treaty between England and Spain in 1604 which brought an end to a war which had dragged on for almost twenty years. Between 20 May and 16 July 1604, eighteen conference sessions were held at Somerset House, and the treaty was signed on 16 August. While those depicted were not all present at the same time, the painting may well record the appearance of the room in Old Somerset House where the negotiations took place. On the left are the members of the Hispano-Flemish delegation, on the right, the English commissioners. Although it apparently bears the signature of the Spanish painter Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, this painting also bears an impossible date, 1594. It is generally thought that both signature and the date are false and that it is by a hitherto unidentified Flemish artist. It may be associated with {John De Critz the Elder|mp6865}, whose paintings were probably the source for the portraits of {Robert Cecil|mp03952} and {Thomas Sackville|mp01339}.