Portrait of Oliver Cromwell
In this painting by Thomas Wyck, Cromwell’s pose on horseback mirrors that of King Charles I in a painting of 1633. Cromwell therefore appears quite literally as Charles’s successor. The setting, however, is different. Cromwell is attended by a black servant with a backdrop that suggests North Africa. The artist may be referring to Cromwell’s 1655 foray against the pirates who attacked English merchant ships from their headquarters on the Tunisian coast. Cromwell sent twenty ships to bombard the pirates’ fortifications and destroy their fleet. (Private Collection / Photo © Philip Mould Ltd., London, UK / Bridgeman Images.)