The Construction of Whiteness, Gender and Race in Early Modern Portraits by Dr Janet Couloute

This article examines the construction of whiteness in three early modern portraits in the Tate collection: The Cholmondeley Ladies (c.1600–10) and Marcus Gheeraerts II’s Portrait of an Unknown Lady (c.1595) and Portrait of Captain Thomas Lee (1594). It considers markers of racial identity in relation to Englishness, nation-building, colonialism, class, inheritance and motherhood. Accompanying audio pieces present the author’s experience developing her research as a Black gallery guide at Tate, and examine the use of make-up and dress to accentuate whiteness. Based on these discussions, the author proposes alternative captions for each of the works.