English School, probably 17th Century

Sir John Bourchier, 2nd Lord Berners, served Henry VIII as Lieutenant of Calais and Chancellor of the Exchequer. The present portrait is after the prototype by an unknown Flemish artist held in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 4953), likely executed during Berners’ tenure in Calais. A keen historian, Berners translated seminal works such as Froissart’s Chronicles and the Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius into English. It is possible that the apple in his hand is intended to symbolise the wealth of his knowledge.