This Tudor portrait was recently identified as John Smythson, Queen Elizabeth I’s Master Cook. How the painting came to Hull is unknown, but Smythson’s family did have Yorkshire roots.
The portrait is the first surviving picture of a Royal Master Cook. It was painted by an accomplished artist who was probably associated with the Court.
The mystery of the man in the painting
There's a lot of mystery surrounding this portrait and the man's identity. At one time he was said to be Alderman John Smith, a Merchant Adventurer and Mayor of Hull.
At another time, he was identified as William Gee. Gee had also been a Mayor of Hull and helped fund the building of a new Grammar School in the 1580s. Gee donated £80 and 20,000 bricks towards the school, which cost around £600 to build.
Around 1880, artist Thomas Tindall Wildridge painted an impression of the Grammar School. In the painting, you can see this portrait hanging in the schoolroom. This helps explain the William Gee misidentification
Identifying John Smythson
Later, cleaning of the painting revealed the coat of arms you can now see. This coat of arms was identified as belonging to John Smythson, Queen Elizabeth I’s Master Cook.
His role as Master Cook would have been highly prestigious and ceremonial. Not at all like the anonymous servant sweating away in the bowels of a kitchen that we imagine.
Credit: Alan Borg, author of ‘John Smythson, Master Cook to Queen Elizabeth I’, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, vol. 166 (2013), 189–198
