Contrived, overblown allegories

Although the king was ostensibly absent from the paintings, every panel above was designed to magnify his authority below. Without his presence they become as they appear to some today – contrived, overblown allegories. But with the King enthroned and his court in attendance, they ceiling represented a brilliant fusion of Catholic Counter-Reformation style with the Protestant symbolism and political imagery of Caroline personal rule.

J. Brotton, The sale of the late King's goods (2006), 171

Charles came to define his royal authority through the awe and silence induced by painting

Charles came to define his royal authority through the awe and silence induced by painting, rather than the books and public disputation cherished by his father, Charles lacked the scholarly erudition of his father, James I, and the ruthless pragmatism of his son, Charles II. His close attention to detail and tendency towards prevarication made him particularly susceptible to the pleasures of collecting, with its absorption in questions of provenance, attribution, style and judgement.

J. Brotton, The sale of the late King's goods (2006), 10